Traffic Congestion and Physical Health of Commuters: Perspective of Dhaka City

The daily commute to the office is the most common scenario for office workers in urban areas. On the other hand, traffic congestion has become a growing concern while commuting. Traffic congestion hurts the environment and the countries economy. Some research found an adverse effect on the mental and physical health of daily commuters. However, the influence of traffic congestion when traveling is not identified yet. This review suggested that the association between road traffic delays and physical health are needed to be explored.


INTRODUCTION
According to Traffic Index 2019, Dhaka is the top traffic-congested city in the world. Populous cities like Kolkata, Delhi, or Jakarta are also experiencing the same level of traffic congestion. Traffic congestion is the growing concern of the urban world, which is potentially intensifying the physical health concerns of commuters [1]. According to the World Bank, this notorious traffic congestion ruins 3.2 million working hours every day in Dhaka [2]. Now Dhaka city is experiencing 7km/h driving speed in an average, however, this speed was three times more than current speed in the last decade. If this trend continues, it would bring the city's driving speed slower than the walking speed, e.g.; 4km/h [3] (The Daily Star, 20 July 2017). Furthermore, traffic congestion produces an enormous amount of sound and noise, emits fossil fuel fume, and a long wait until reaching their destiny put mental pressure on commuters mind [4]. Thus, the impact of traffic congestion is widely negative. It is affecting commuters' mental and physical health besides its environmental and financial detriments. Some European cities ban private vehicles in the city Centre or impose high taxes to tackle traffic congestion. However, these measures have been taken to reduce air and sound pollution. One the other hand, effect of commuting on mental health has been justified by the researchers. Nonetheless, effect of long delays in traffic on musculoskeletal health has never been tested. This review would show necessity of research to determine effect of traffic congestion on physical health of passenger who faces traffic congestion in Dhaka city.

ACCOMMODATION IN TRANSPORT AND COMMUTERS ADAPTATION
Most of the public transports in Dhaka city are smaller in size and frequently overloaded which have an inadequate head clearance for the standees, fewer leg rooms for the seated that can force them to adopt a wrong posture. Popular private vehicles and rented cars or threewheelers of Dhaka is also compact and provide minimal space for the seated passengers to alter their posture. But commuters need to wait for an extended period on the street during traffic jam adopting wrong or same posture. The research revealed that staying in one posture for a long time or adopting bad posture can produce musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) [5][6][7]. Thus increase numbers of low back pain, neck pain, knee pain patients in Dhaka might have a connection with long delays in traffic congestion. Because, office goers, regardless of male and female of different ages face traffic congestion at least five days a week. On the other hand, pavements of Dhaka are not suitable for walking and Dhaka's street did not get a separate lane for bicycle riders or pedestrians. Investigation of the physical health of Dhaka city dwellers could reveal the impact of traffic congestion on the musculoskeletal health status of its victim.

TRAFFIC CONGESTION, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH
Public health researcher Urhonen et al. found that long commuting distance hurts the physical activity of commuters [8]. Furthermore,

OPEN ACCESS
during traffic congestion, an enormous amount of motorized vehicle produces an unbearable sound that is absorbed by traffic victims. Interestingly, Environmental researchers found that long exposure to noise and air pollution can produce anxiety and depression Kunn-Nelen (2016) researched to find the relation between commuting time and commuters' health. She found poor health status among long commuters who see general practitioners more frequently than short commuters [4]. Similarly, Hoehner et al., (2012) found that commuting long-distance harms physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness of commuters [15]. Our research would add further knowledge regarding the effect of a long time commute to the physical health of commuters.
Ironically, research work found that awkward posture in-vehicle is not adversely affecting driver's musculoskeletal pain though psychological factors are associated with drivers' muscle pain [16]. This might be drivers the adaptive ability to their sitting position in the vehicle because two other studies found prolonged sitting posture induce musculoskeletal problems [5,17].

CONCLUSION
From the above review, it can be concluded that further research is needed to explore the effect of traffic-related delays on the physical health of commuters. Reliable daily commuters who face traffic congestion regularly should be selected for conducting research.