Answer to Question #182958 in Management for rose

Question

Provide a description of the road transport system and the elements which influence the demand for road transport. Then go on to discuss the 3 Es related to influencing the behavior of road users and provide recommendations how these measures could be improved.

Answer 1

Road Transport System and the Factors Influencing Road Transport Demand

Road transport system is a type of transportation which enables the movement of goods and services from one point to the other through road routes between different destinations. It has a major advantage which entails enabling door-to-door delivery and providing very cost-effective means of loading and unloading. Also, this type of transportation requires less investment compared to other transportation modes such as railways, water and air transport. Nevertheless, road transport has some limitations such as accidents, undependable during rainy weather and is less organized compared to other modes.

The transportation of people and goods through road can occur for different reasons and at different time of the day. Consequently, there are several elements influencing the demand for road transport. These include:

• Demographic factors – in which the demand for road transport can be influenced by the personal characteristics of users such as age, gender, and social-economic levels. People that are privileged to own cars and pedestrians necessitate the availability of sustainable road transport system to ensure mobility.
• Trip characteristics – the number of people travelling to their work places, visiting recreation centers and education can impact the demand for road transport. Many people travelling to common destinations will cause an increased road transportation demand.
• Transport system – this system includes the availability of good travel routes, cost of travel, road conditions and the reliability of the service which attracts people to use roads.

The 3 Es related to influencing the behavior of road users include education, engineering and enforcement.

• Education – in road transportation, behavior management is essential by running multiple road safety campaigns to advocate for road safety education. This education offers safety tips that both drivers and pedestrians can responsibly adhere to eliminate the occurrence of accidents.
• Engineering – certain measures adopted and implemented by engineers improve road safety. These include separation of opposite lanes, installation of traffic lights and developing solutions to design safer roads.
• Enforcement – while there are behaviors that are likely to cause road traffic injuries such as over speeding, excessive passengers and not using seatbelts, the government enforces laws that address these risky behaviors.

As these measures can be effective in managing risky behavior, there are several recommendations that can improve these measures. One of these involves reviewing road development standards and moving towards safety conscious roads that are customized for local conditions. Also, audits should be performed on roads to create safer networks.