TRAFFIC ENGINEERING

Dr. Goutham Sarang

Traffic engineering
Phase of engineering which deals with safe and efficient
movement of people and goods on roads
Achieved by systematic traffic studies, scientific analysis
and engineering applications
Road traffic vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic
Vehicular traffic 2 components
Human element
Machine as vehicles

Traffic engineering
Definition
Inst. of Traffic Engineers, USA that phase of
engineering which deals with planning, geometric design
and traffic operation on streets, highways and abutting
lands for the safe, convenient and economic
transportation of persons and goods
Prof. Ress Blunden, California Uty is the science of
measuring traffic and travel, the study of the basic laws
relating to traffic flow and generation and application of
this knowledge to the professional practice of planning,
designing and operating traffic systems to achieve safe
and efficient movement of persons and goods

Traffic engineering Scope

Basic object to achieve efficient, free and rapid flow of
traffic, with least number of traffic accidents
6 major sections
Traffic characteristics
Traffic studies and analysis
Traffic operation-control and regulation
Planning and analysis
Geometric design
Administration and management

Traffic characteristics most essential for improved traffic

facilities
Complex with various types of road users with different
motives human psychology

Studies on vehicle characteristics, speed, volume, capacity,

travel pattern, OD, traffic flow, parking, accidents, etc.

Traffic engineering Scope

Traffic operation regulation, control and warrants for applying
controls
Regulation laws, ordinances, other measures like speed limits,
Control installing traffic control devices like signs, signals,

Traffic planning for major roads, mass transit facilities, parking

facilities
Geometric design - All aspects (cross section and surface
details, sight dist, horizontal and vertical alignment., intersection,
parking facilities, etc)
Various phases of traffic engg are implemented with 3 Es
Engineering, Enforcement, Education
Enforcement traffic laws, regulation, control
Education sufficient publicity through schools, TVs
Engineering improvement of road geometrics, providing
additional road facilities, etc.

Traffic characteristics
Road User
Human element pedestrian, cyclist, car driver, motorist
Factors affecting road user characteristics
Physical
Mental
Psychological
Environmental

Physical characteristics
Vision
Hearing
Strength
General reaction to traffic situations

Traffic characteristics
Road User
Physical characteristics
Vision Include acuity of vision, peripheral vision and eye
movement, glare vision, glare recovery, depth judgement
Minm std for acuity of vision laid down by licensing
authorities important while designing and installing
control devices
Field of clearest and acute vision within a cone of 3 degrees
(satisfactory upto 10 or 20 degrees in horizontal plane)
In vertical plane 2/3 rd of that in horizontal
Eye movement may be reqd for clear vision time for
movement depends on physical characteristics (response to
stimuli etc.)
Effects of glare, Adaptability to changes of light important
Depth judgement in judging dist and speed of vehicles
and other objects ahead

Traffic characteristics
Road User
Physical characteristics
Hearing more important for pedestrians and motorists,
also for drivers
Blowing horns, overtaking, at curves

Strength lack of strength may make parking of heavy

vehicles difficult
General reaction to traffic situations depends on time
reqd to perceive and understand situation and take
appropriate action
Many factors
PIEV theory

Traffic characteristics
Road User
Mental characteristics knowledge, skill, intelligence,
experience, literacy etc.
Psychological characteristics affect reactions to traffic
situations
Emotional factors (attentiveness, fear, anger, maturity)
Distractions by non traffic events; Dangerous actions; etc.

Environmental characteristics traffic stream chara,

facilities to the traffic, atmospheric conditions, locality
Traffic stream may be mixed or heavy traffic
Facilities to overtake may be limited

PIEV time vary from driver to driver, also depending on type

of problem,
Driver characteristics can be measured in lab using Driver
Testing Equipment

Traffic characteristics
Vehicle
Vehicle standards should be uniform, considering large
% of existing vehicles and those likely to come in near
future
Vehicular characteristics Static and Dynamic
Static characteristics of vehicles dimensions, weight,
maximum turning angle
Height of driver seat visibility dist.
Height of head light HSD at valley curves
Windshield and front portion field of vision
Clearance below chassis, vertical profile, humps, dips,
Minm turning radius (wheel base, steering system)
design of sharp curves
Gross weight, axle and wheel loads structural design of
pavt.

Traffic characteristics
Vehicle
Dynamic characteristics of vehicles speed, acceleration,
braking characteristics, others
Speed, accel. (engine power) all geometric design elements
Deceleration, braking dist. safe vehicle operation
Suspension system riding comfort on vertical curves
Bumper and body of vehicle impact chara. on collision and
injuries to occupants

Vehicle Dimensions
Overall width, height and length of different vehicles
(especially the largest)
Width width of traffic lanes, shoulders, parking facilities
Height clearance of overhead structures (underpasses,
electric lines etc.)
Length horizontal alignment (extra width of pavt., minm
turning radius) safe OSD, parking facilities, maneuverability

Traffic characteristics
Vehicle
Maxm allowable
width, height,
length by IRC 3
2.5m wide
3.8m for single,
4.75 for double
decked
11, 12, 16 or 18
m length
(excluding
bumpers)

Traffic characteristics
Vehicle
Weight of loaded
vehicle
Affects design of
pavt thickness,
gradients
Maxm
permissible gross
weights & axle
weights

Traffic characteristics
Vehicle
Power of vehicle: Power of the heaviest vehicle and its
loaded weight permissible and limiting gradients
Total resistance to traction, power reqd to overcome resistance
etc. important

Speed of vehicle Sight dist., superelevation, length of

transition curve, limiting radius, gradients, etc.
Braking characteristics and deceleration depends on
design and type of braking system
Safety of vehicle operation, stopping dist, spacing b/w vehicles,
etc.

Braking test measures skid resistance of pavt. surface

Any 2 of 3 reqd: braking dist, initial speed, duration of brake
application

Off-tracking or mechanical widening =

Traffic Studies
To analyze traffic characteristics
Various studies are:
Traffic Volume study
Speed studies
Spot speed study
Speed and delay study

Origin and Destination (O&D) study

Traffic flow characteristics
Traffic capacity study
Parking study
Accident studies or the traffic flop

Traffic Volume Study

Traffic volume no. of vehicles crossing a section of
road per unit time at any selected period
Common units vehicles per day or vehicles per hour

A complete study: classified volume study volm of

various types and classes of traffic, distribution by
direction and turning movements, distribution on
different lanes per unit time
A true measure of relative importance of roads for priority
for improvement/expansion

Variations from time to time

Patterns of hourly, daily, seasonal variations

Traffic Volume Study

Uses:
In planning, traffic operation and control of existing
facilities, for planning and designing new facilities
In analysis of traffic patterns and trends
Classified volm study in structural design of pavts.,
geometric design, computing capacity
Volm distribution study in planning one way streets, other
regulatory measures
Turning movement study in design of intersections, signal
times, etc.
Pedestrian traffic volm study in planning side walks,
subways, pedestrian signals, etc.

Counting of Traffic Volume

Mechanical counters
Either fixed or portable
Automatically record total no. of vehicles crossing a section
of road
By the effect of impulses/stimuli due to traffic movement on
a pneumatic hose placed across roadway
Also photo electric cells, magnetic detector, radar detectors
Work throughout day and night
The Infra-Red Traffic Logger

Manual counters
Field team record volume in prescribed sheets
Vehicle classification, turning movements, loading condition
or no. of occupants, etc. possible
24 hrs for all days is difficult
Statistical sampling techniques and statistical analysis

Presentation of traffic
volume data
Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT or ADT) of total and
classified traffic are calculated
AADT: avg 24-hour traffic volume at a given location over a
full 365-day year, i.e. the total no. of vehicles passing the
point in a year divided by 365
ADT: An average 24-hour traffic volume at a given location for
some period of time less than a year. Valid only for the period
over which it was measured.

Trend charts with volm trends over period of yrs

Planning future expansion, design and regulation

Variation charts hourly, daily and seasonal variation

Facilities and regulation needed during peak traffic periods

Traffic flow maps along the routes

Thickness of lines indicate traffic volm.
Gives idea about traffic distribution in a glance

Presentation of traffic
volume data
Volume flow diagram at intersections
Shows details of crossing and turning; used for
intersection design

Plot b/w hourly volm and no. of hrs in a yr the traffic volm
is exceeded
Highest or peak hourly volm will be too high for design
Annual Avg. Hourly Volm (from AADT) will be low
30th highest hourly volm (hourly volm that exceeds only
29 times in a yr and all other hourly volms of the yr are
less than this value)
Congestion only during 29 hours in the year
Highway facilities are generally designed, for this volume
which is satisfactory from both facility and economic
considerations.

800

30

540

220

790

40
120
40

370

600

590

50

180

510

370

250
100
20
30

200

Assignment
Traffic signs and Road markings

Speed
Speed is considered as a quality measurement of travel
Travel time the reciprocal of speed shows how well a
road network is operated
Spot Speed instantaneous speed of a vehicle at a
specified location
Average Speed Avg. of spot speeds of all vehicles
passing a given point
2 definitions for the avg of a series of spot speed
measurements
Space mean speed
Time mean speed

Speed
Space mean speed avg speed of all vehicles
occupying a given section of a highway over some
specified time period
Avg speed of vehicles in a certain road length at any time
(Avg. travel time is obtained from the reciprocal of sms)
Vs space mean speed
n no. of individual vehicle observations
Vi instantaneous speed of ith vehicle
sms is harmonic mean of spot speed =
= For q no. of vehicles with speed v

Speed
Time mean speed average speed of all the vehicles
passing a point on a highway over some specified time
period
Speed distribution of vehicles at point on the roadway
Avg. of instantaneous speeds of observed vehicles at the
spot

Vt time mean speed

Vi observed instantaneous speed of ith vehicle
n no. of individual vehicle observations
tms is avg. of spot speeds =
= For q no. of vehicles with speed v
tms sms

Speed
Running Speed - the avg speed maintained by a vehicle
over a particular stretch while the vehicle is moving
Found by dividing length of stretch by time duration the
vehicle was actually in motion
Doesn't consider time the vehicle is brought to a stop, or
has to wait till it has a clear road ahead

Overall Speed or Travel Speed or Journey Speed the

effective speed of vehicle on a journey b/w two points
Found by dividing distance b/w the by total time taken for
vehicle to complete journey including all stopped time
and delays

Running speed is always more than or equal to journey

speed

Spot Speed Study

Useful in
Planning traffic control and regulation
Geometric design for redesigning existing highways or for
deciding design speed for new facilities
Accident studies
Traffic capacity studies
Deciding speed trends
Comparing diverse types of drivers and vehicles under
specified conditions

Affected by
Physical features of road (pavt. width, curve, sight dist.,
gradient, unevenness, intersections, road side
developments)
Environmental conditions (weather, visibility), Enforcement,
Traffic conditions, Driver and Vehicle chara., Motive of travel.

Spot Speed Study

Obtained by finding running speed over dist < 50m OR
by finding the instantaneous speed while crossing a
section
Using enoscope mirror box supported on tripod stand
Observer on one side starts stopwatch when vehicle
crosses section
Encoscope is placed at convenient dist. such that image
of vehicle is seen by observer when vehicle crosses that
section, where enoscope is fixed.
Stopwatch is stopped when
vehicle crosses the section
Time reqd to cross known
length gives speed
Simple and cheap
Slow, human error

Presentation of Spot Speed

Data
Avg speed of vehicles
Frequency distribution tables arranging data in various
speed ranges and no. vehicles in each range
Arithmetic mean avg. speed
Gives an idea about speed distribution pattern

Cumulative speed of vehicles

Graph with avg values of each speed group on X axis and
cumulative % of vehicles travel at or below speed on Y
axis
85th percentile speed that speed at or below 85% of
vehicles passing OR only 15% vehicles exceed that speed
safe speed limit
98th percentile speed for geometric design
15th percentile speed lower speed limit/ minm speed
50th percentile speed median or middle speed

Presentation of Spot Speed

Data
Cumulative speed distribution
Speed
Range

%
Vehicles

0-10

10-20

20-30

20

30-40

30

40-50

35

50-60

60-70

Presentation of Spot Speed

Data
Modal speed
Speed Distribution Curve frequency distribution curve of
spot speed speed or avg. of speed group of vehicles on
X axis and % vehicles in that group on Y axis
Peak value of the curve model speed speed at which
greatest number of vehicles travel
Vehicles at different speeds
Speed dispersion from the avg. affects capacity and
safety
For free flow of vehicles, speed distribution follows
normal distribution curve
Quality of flow depends on speed dispersion
Judged by: 85th minus 15th percentiles speeds, std.
deviation, coeff. of variation, etc.

Presentation of Spot Speed

Data
Frequency Distribution Curve