Traffic Congestion During Eid and How to Reduce It

In countries where Muslims are the majority, Eid is a big celebration day. People in these countries typically pray, have a feast, and visit families during this holiday. These activities and their preparation often cause traffic jams, so traffic congestion during Eid holiday is a normal occurrence in those regions.

The governments of Muslim countries, such as Indonesia and Jordan, have tried various strategies to reduce this transportation problem. However, the high traffic volume makes it hard for them to reduce traffic congestion. 

Traffic Congestion During Eid Holiday: A Brief Overview

Eid Holidays and traffic jams are difficult to separate. In smaller countries, this traffic issue may not be as complicated as that in highly populated Muslim countries, such as Indonesia. Still, traffic congestion during this holiday causes discomfort and increases air pollution.

Traffic jams frequently occur during the Eid Holiday due to various causes.

1. Visiting Relatives

Eid is an excellent time to visit families and friends. Therefore, Muslims will spend much time on the road to meet them.

In Indonesia, most Muslims living in big cities will visit their hometowns to meet their parents and elderly relatives during Eid. In addition, they start to travel almost simultaneously, i.e., right after the Eid Holiday starts.

Consequently, traffic volume drastically increased in one day. In 2025, authorities predicted over 8,500 vehicles pass through the Java highway per hour during the peak of homecoming season in Indonesia. As a result, traffic congestion in Indonesia during Eid cannot be avoided.

2. Holiday Shopping

Most Muslims celebrate the Eid Holiday merrily by cooking delicious foods, decorating their interior, and wearing new clothes. Therefore, they must purchase many items to prepare for this celebration.

This shopping activity often causes traffic congestion because the parking lot is full. Therefore, shoppers park their vehicles illegally on roadsides. There are also illegal stalls on roadsides that attract many buyers. These phenomena can affect traffic flow and cause bottlenecks.

3. Accidents

The high volume of traffic during Eid often makes road users stressed out. As a result, they may drive over the speed limit, change lanes recklessly, and do other things that can cause accidents.

In most cases, accidents will slow down traffic. Sometimes, vehicles involved in the crash blocked the road for hours. Therefore, many road users are stuck in traffic.

The Side Effects of Traffic Jams During Eid

Being stuck in traffic congestion during Eid is annoying. Moreover, this transportation issue also causes many side effects.

• Air Pollution: Traffic jams cause vehicles to burn more fuel. Consequently, these vehicles produce more emissions that can lead to increased air pollution levels.

• Waste of Time: Being stuck in a traffic jam for hours is wasting time. Because of this issue, road users cannot reach their destination on time. In addition, being stuck in traffic congestions for hours can cause health problems, e.g. hypertension and headaches.

• Increased Transportation Costs: Traffic jams also increase transportation costs. Because of this problem, travelers must buy more petrol, food, and drinks during travel.

• Accidents: Traffic congestion during Eid increases the risk of accidents. This transportation problem can cause drivers to feel tired, sleepy, and distracted. Therefore, they are in danger of causing vehicle crashes.

Traffic Broadcast Alerts to Reduce Traffic Jams During Eid

Governments and authorities can reduce traffic jams during Eid by integrating several strategies. One of these strategies is broadcasting wireless traffic alerts. Authorities can immediately disseminate a wireless warning message to road users in particular areas when there is a traffic jam.

The message must contain important information about the congestion, e.g. the location of the traffic jam and alternative routes to avoid it. Consequently, road users can take other routes to escape the congestion.

These alerts are effective in reducing congestion because wireless traffic warnings have many excellent features. What are these features?

• Wireless traffic alerts can reach all road users near the congestion because these alerts are sent via the radio cells of a cellular network within a particular radius. Therefore, no travelers will miss these alerts.

• Wireless traffic alert machines can disseminate warning messages quickly. It takes only seconds for the machine to send a warning message to thousands of road users.

• Cell phones receiving a wireless alert will ring an emergency tone as the message pops on the mobile phone’s screen.  Therefore, road users will immediately notice this alert and follow the instructions to avoid traffic congestion.

Traffic congestion during Eid is a common problem all Muslim countries must face. Thankfully, authorities in these regions can reduce this congestion by sending wireless traffic alerts. To disseminate these warnings, they can purchase a wireless alert machine on smsbroadcaster.com.