Traffic jam by GPS: A systematic analysis of the negative social externalities of large-scale navigation technologies

PLoS One. 2024 Aug 6;19(8):e0308260. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308260. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

The increased usage of navigation technologies has caused conflicts in local traffic management, resulting in congested residential areas among other challenges for residents. This paper uses content analysis to investigate such negative social externalities within local communities and neighbourhoods. Through a corpus of 90 news articles about traffic incidents caused by navigation technologies, we identified negative traffic and safety-related externalities, including congestion, damage, pollution, and accidents. We also report on countermeasures by local communities and governments, including street closures, speed limit reduction, and turn bans. Based on our results, we discuss the implications for designing mobile navigation technologies that reduce negative social externalities.

MeSH terms

  • Accidents, Traffic / prevention & control
  • Automobile Driving
  • Geographic Information Systems*
  • Humans
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Safety

Grants and funding

Funded by: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Grant number: 207430 Recipients: Prof. Dr. Johannes Schöning URL: https://data.snf.ch/grants/grant/207430 Our project’s funders had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or manuscript preparation.