INTRODUCTION TO TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT :-

Over a million years ago, the only element of intrest on the earth was Nature, that is, the natural environment. And then arrived the man. It took him hundreds of thousands of years to become organised and to creat a City. The life was injected in this city bu building mammoth structures,large networks of highways,railwaya,communications,and so on. The man, whose mode of movement was his feet or horseback for more than three thousand years, continued to achieve progress by developing various travel modes by using road, river, ocean. Then came the Automobile on the scene in the late nineteenth century.While this invaluable gift to the industrial revolution has benefited the world development and has changed the life style of the people, this boon to man-kind has also become a curse in many ways. The growth in size, volume, variety and speed of automobile has led to serious hazard on roads. Inadequate streetnetwork and ever-growing pressure on the roads have caused enormous strains on the city’s transportation system. The situation is worse in developing countries like ours where the growth in the number of vehicles is almost in a geometrical progression while the requisite infrastructure to cater to this tremendous growth is not developed even in an arithmatical progression. The urban transport scene presents a picture of chaos and confusion bred out of indifference and neglect.Besides the problems of ever-increasing congestion causing delays frustration, pollution and degrading visual aesthetic etc., the most serious of all ill-effects is the road accidents causing untold human misery, life-long grief and enormous national loss. Unless remedial measures are adopted, this menacing situation is likely to go worse causing suffering, drain on medical, human and other resources.
The traffic problem itself is not new. What is new about it is its growing magnitude and signifiance. Just as blood runs in the arteries, so dose traffic flow on roads. Any obstruction to the traffic movements leads to asyphyxia of economy.

The Britannica Encyclopaedia defines traffic as the movement of people, goods, or vehicles between separated points.

Therefore,the word “traffic” includes pedestrians and all types of vehicles-motivated or non-motivated. However,in common parlance,traffic control is considered to be control of automobiles, because traffic became a problem only after the invention,use and growth of the automobile as a means of Transport.Traffic planning must,however,look beyond the vehicles of the highway system, and should fix its correct priority on the principles of demand and supply so as to use the available roads effeciently.

It has been realised all over the world that the transportation infrastructure cannot continue to be expanded endlessly to cater to the ever-increasing needs of the man and machine. The energy resources are depleting while the demands is on the constant increase. The construction costs have been consistently rising due to inflation all over the world, and more and more urban areas are springing up seeking funds which were hitherto focused only on a few large cities. The maintenance cost is also galloping. The increasing awareness in the public has dawned a new era in which the public has started questioning the propriety of expanding the transportation infrastructure instead of optimising the existing one. This recent awakening on the environmental, social and economic consequence of such expansion has forced the authorities to study the costeffectiveness and equity implications of every major urban transportation investment. Today, importance is attached not to the movement of vehicles but to the movment of people and goods,thus introducing the concept of mass transport and pedestrianisation based on sound management principles known as 5Es...... Economy, Energy, Equity, Efficiency and Environment.

Traffic Managment rests on three pillars popularly kown as 3E’s.... Engineering , Enforcement and Education. While enforcement and education are primarily the responsibility of the traffic police, engineering,on whos shoulders the main rail of traffic management runs.is looked after by different bodies viz. concerned Municipalty,State P.W.D or National Highway authorities. The responsibility for formulating basic policies concerning vehicular growth and allotment of permits etc. rests with the motor Vehicles Department. This department also looks after the most vital aspects of roas safety management, namely licencing and vehicle fitness. It is, therefore, tragic that while the main orchestra is to be conducted by the traffic Police, the stage is actually laid by different authorities while instruments are provided by others. Unfortunately, it is the traffic police that has to bear the brunt of public outburst in case of an accident or other traffic problems.Neither there is any co-ordination betweenthe Traffic Police and other concerned bodies nor does the traffic police have adequate experties in traffic management. It is little wonder then, that traffic management takes a back seat and plays the role of a helpless specator.

It is, therefore, very essential for the traffic officersto acquaint themselves with various aspects of traffic management including the basics of engineering so that they can take objective and pragmatic decisions in the larger interest of the system. The traffic administration, now adays, is not mere control. The old methods of enforncement alone will no longer suffice.A systems approche to identify and rectify the problems before they become unmangageable is the need of the hour and the earlier this is understood, the better it will be for all concerned.

It may also be understood that no traffic management plan can succeed whithout the community involvement. There is always inertial resistance to any change (even the thought of it); human averseness to change is almost universal. It will be unwise to introduce new traffic measures and intensify enforcement without adequate preparation to ensure some level of public understanding and some degree of public acceptance.It is therefore very important for the traffic officers not to be just professionally competent but they should also learn the art of good salesmanship. Another equally important aspect of the traffic management programme is the manner in which the individual officer and constable behaves while enforcing traffic laws in general and new traffic scheme in particular. While enforcing the law, the good-will of the public should not be forfeited.

Considering the afore-mentioned aspects of traffic management and importance of role which the police has to play in city traffic administration, we have designed the new curriculum for the traffic officers with a view not only to enducate them in traffic management and engineering aspects but also to impart sound practical knwoledge. Traffic education and public participation have not been excluded. Audio-cisual training aids have been recently incorporated. We are confident that the knowledge acquired during 6 weeks Course will prove very useful to the officers when they go back to their cities and face roads, traffic and public.
The traffic organisation can deliver goods only if it is placed under the officer who has not only experience and experties, but also aptitude for traffic management. We, therefore, recommend creation of a specialised cadre without insistence on a set tenure.If at all, transfers of officers are to be effected for administrativereasons, they may be rotated to different areas/ranges but within the traffic police administration as far as possible. They should be imparted regular training to keep them abreast of the latest developments in traffic management and urban transportation. Unless such officers trained at the Institute are given field experience immidiately after the training, the whole training will prove an exercise in futility.

            Traffic Management Courses for P.S.Is./ P.Is.