An Exploration of Influence of Accumulated Rainwater on Urban Traffic

In recent years, traffic congestion caused by accumulated rainwater has become a severe problem in cities during rainy or stormy days. The objective of this paper is to explore the relationship between vehicle speed and the depth of the accumulated rainwater. Thus, a model of economic losses caused by accumulated rainwater and traffic congestion has been built. In this paper, economic losses are divided into two sections: indirect and direct economic losses. The latter is the focus of this study. The direct economic losses include the losses of oil consumption due to the decrease of vehicle speed and the loss of time value due to traffic congestion on rainy days. A model of economic losses of oil consumption has been created with the knowledge of vehicle engineering, and the parameters in the model have been calibrated after investigation. In the research of loss of time value, the criterion of time value is estimated by the use of the social economy. The relationship between the vehicle speed and the economic losses on rainy days has been quantified in this paper, which provides a scientific model for the evaluation of urban traffic on rainy days.