Traffic Engineering Module I

MODULE I

1.1 Definition
Traffic engineering is defined as the phase of engineering that deals with the planning, geometric
design and traffic operations of roads, their networks, terminals, abutting lands and relationships with
other modes of transportation for the achievement of safe, efficient and convenient movement of
persons and goods. It deals with the improvement of traffic performance of road networks and
terminals. This is achieved by systematic traffic studies. The road traffic is composed of vehicular
traffic and pedestrian traffic. Each category of vehicular traffic has two components – human element
as driver and the machine as vehicle.

1.2 Objective and Scope of Traffic Engineering

1. Safety - The primary objective of traffic engineering to provide a medium for safe movement of
people and goods, with least number of accidents.

2. Speed - Higher speed means shorter travel time. But speed is limited by transportation
technology, human characteristics and need to provide safety.

3. Comfort - It involves the physical characteristics of vehicles and roadways and is influenced by
our perception of safety. It is a general term and it means different thing to different people.

4. Convenience - It relates to the ease of making trips and the ability of transport systems to
accommodate all travel needs at appropriate time.

5. Economy - It is a relative quantity. The transportation systems involve massive construction,

maintenance, and operating expenditures, most of which are provided through general and user
taxes and fees. It involves the provision of best possible systems for the money.

6. Environmental compatibility - Harmony with the environment is a complex issue. All

transportation systems have some negative impact on the environment. All produce air and noise
pollution in some forms and utilize valuable resources. The objective is to provide sustainable
transport systems.

The study of traffic engineering includes the following:

1. Traffic characteristics 4. Planning and analysis

2. Traffic studies and analysis 5. Geometric design
3. Traffic operation-control and regulation 6. Administration and management

The study of traffic characteristics is the most essential prerequisite for any improvement of
traffic facilities. The traffic characteristics are quite complex with various types of road users in the
roads moving with different motives. The human psychology is to be given particular attention. The
study of vehicular characteristics is an essential part.

The traffic studies include speed, volume, capacity, travel patterns, origin and destination,
traffic flow characteristics, parking and accident studies, on actual vehicles.

The aspects covered under traffic operations are regulations, control and the warrants for
application of controls. Regulations may be in the form of laws and ordinances or other traffic
regulatory measures such as speed limit etc. Installation of traffic control devices like signs, signals

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and islands are most common means to regulate and control the traffic. Actual adoption of traffic
management measures, such as traffic regulations and control need adequate attention.

Traffic planning is a separate phase for major highways like express-ways, arterial roads,
mass transit facilities and parking facilities. This is done to ensure safe, orderly and fully integrated
transportation system.

In the design phase, the aspects such as cross section and surface details, sight distance
requirement, horizontal and vertical alignment, intersections, parking facilities, etc. are suitably
designed for better performance.

The various phases of traffic engineering are implemented with the help of Engineering,
Enforcement and Education or "3-Es". Enforcement is usually made through traffic laws, regulations
and control. Education may be possible by sufficient publicity and through schools and television. It
aims at improving the human factor in traffic performance. Engineering phase is the one which is
constructive. It deals with improvement of road geometries, providing additional road facilities and
installation of suitably designed traffic control devices.

1.4 Components of Road Traffic

1. Road User
2. Vehicle

1.5 Road User Characteristics

The human element is involved in all actions of the road users either as a pedestrian or a driver. The
physical, mental and emotional characteristics of human beings affect their ability to operate motor
vehicle safely or to service as a pedestrian. Hence it is important to study the characteristics and
limitations of the road users. The various factors which affect road user characteristics may broadly be
classified as:
1. Physiological characteristics
2. Psychological characteristics

1.5.1 Physiological characteristics

The physical characteristics of the road users may be either permanent or temporary. It includes
vision, hearing, strength and the general reaction to traffic situations.

1.5.1.1 Vision
It plays the most important role in all the physical characteristics. These include the acuity of vision,
peripheral vision and eye movement; glare vision, glare recovery and distance judgement. Field of
clearest and acute vision is within a cone whose angle is only 3° about the centre of retina. But fairly
satisfactory vision is obtained for angle of cone upto 10° to 12°. These factors are particularly taken
care of while designing and installing control devices.

Peripheral vision deals with total visual field for the two eyes. Within this field the eyes are
able to see objects, but without clear details and colour. The angle of peripheral vision is about 160º in
horizontal direction and 115º in vertical direction. As the field of clear vision is limited, the road users
have to turn their head or shift their eyes within the peripheral field so that the object comes within the
cone of clear vision. The cone of peripheral vision also depends on speed. The angle of cone falls
down from about 110° at 30kmph speed to about 40° at 100kmph. The total time taken for the eye
movement depends on some of the physical characteristics including the response to stimuli.

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Colour vision is important for discerning traffic lights and colour schemes in traffic signs.
Colour blindness is not a serious concern as the drivers can recognise signals using the fixed relative
position of signals.

The effects of glare, adaptability to changes of light i.e., darkness to light and bright light to
darkness, should also be studied. The age of driver and the wearing of glasses determine the quickness
with which the driver adapts to these changes. The glare recovery time varies from 3 to 6 seconds.

The distance judgement is important for a driver in judging distance and speed of vehicles and
other objects ahead. To the pedestrian waiting for a gap in the stream, the true assessment of sped of
on-coming vehicle and its location is important. To the driver moving at a speed, the judgement of
speed of other vehicles is needed to facilitate various manoeuvres.

1.5.1.2 Hearing
It helps drivers in a way, though it is more important for pedestrians and cyclists. The sound of horn
of a nearing vehicle can alert the pedestrian to safety. Elderly person with falling eyesight can
perceive better through hearing than seeing.

1.5.2 Psychological characteristics

The important psychological characteristics of road-user concerns perception, intellection, emotion
and volition, abbreviated as PIEV and the time taken for these processes is known as PIEV time.

Perception is the process of perceiving the sensations received through the eyes, ears, nervous system
and the brain. The exact time required for this is dependent upon the individual’s psychological and
physiological build up.

Intellection is the identification of the stimuli by the development of new thoughts and ideas. It is
different from simple recognition by past experiences which is part of the normal perception process.
When a person perceives certain stimuli, new thoughts and ideas may form, leading to better
understanding of the stimuli.

Emotion is personal trait of the individual that governs his decision making process, after the
perception and intellection of the stimuli.

Volition is the will to react to a situation.

The reaction time that elapses before a road user perceives a danger and decides to take action
is an important design consideration. For example, in the design of sight distances, the perception and
brake reaction time comes into the picture. The perception time is the time required by a driver to
come to the realisation that brakes must be applied. The brake reaction time is that time lag between
the perception of danger and the effective application of the brakes. The Indian Roads Congress
adopts the total perception and brake reaction time as 2.5 seconds. This total time may be considered
to be the PIEV time.

1.6 Vehicle Characteristics

It is important to study the various vehicular characteristics which affect the design and traffic
performance. The basic criterion of highway engineering is to cater for the needs of existing and
anticipated traffic. It will not be economically feasible to keep on increasing the geometric standards
and thickness of pavements from time to time to meet the needs of a few vehicles whose dimensions
and weight are increased. Hence the vehicle standards should be uniform at least within a country,

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keeping in view the large percentage of existing vehicles and those likely to be manufactured in the
near future. The standards for the dimensions and weights of vehicles should be consistent with the
road facilities now available or could be made available in the near future. The various vehicular
characteristics affecting the road design may be classified as static and dynamic characteristic of the
vehicles.

Static characteristics of vehicles affecting road design are the dimensions, weight and
maximum turning angle. The height of driver seat affects the visibility distance and the height of head
light affects the head light sight distance at valley curves. The clearance below the chassis affects the
design of vertical profile of drive ways, humps and dips. The minimum turning radius depends on the
length of wheel base and the features of the steering system and this affects design of sharp curves.
Gross weight, axle and wheel loads of vehicle govern the structural design of pavements and cross
drainage structures.

Dynamic characteristics of vehicles affecting road design are speed, acceleration and braking
characteristics and some aspects of vehicle body design. The speed and acceleration depends upon the
power of the engine and the resistances to be overcome and are important in all the, geometric design
elements. The braking characteristics guide safe vehicle operation. The stability of vehicle and its
safe movement on horizontal curves are affected by the width of wheel base and the height of centre
of gravity. The impact characteristics on collision and the injuries to the occupants depend on the
design of body of the vehicle. Some of the vehicle characteristics are:

1.6.1 Vehicle dimensions

The dimensions to be mainly considered are the overall width, height, and length of different vehicles,
particularly of the largest ones. The width of the vehicle affects width of the traffic lanes, shoulders
and parking facilities. If the width of the lanes is not adequate in view of the widest vehicles using the
roads, the capacity of road will decrease. Height of the vehicle affects the clearance to be provided
under structures such as overbridges, underbridges, electric and other service lines. Length of the
vehicle is an important factor in the design of horizontal alignment as it affects the extra width of
pavement and minimum turning radius. Length affects the safe overtaking distance, capacity of a road
and parking facilities. The length should also be considered in the design of valley curves and dips.

1.6.2 Weight of loaded vehicle

The maximum weight of loaded vehicle affects the design of pavement thickness and gradients. In
fact the limiting gradients are governed by both the weight and power of the heavy vehicles.

1.6.3 Power performance of the vehicle

The power developed by the engine should be sufficient to overcome all resistance to motion at the
desired speed and to accelerate at any desired rate. The resistance to motion includes rolling
resistance, air resistance, grade resistance, inertia forces during acceleration and deceleration and
transmission losses.

1.6.4 Speed of vehicle

The vehicle speed affects sight distances, superelevation, length of transition curve and limiting radius
on horizontal curves, length of transition curves on vertical valley curves and on humps, width of
pavement and shoulders on straight and on horizontal curves, design gradient, capacity of traffic lane
and design and control measures on intersections. Thus the design speed controls most of the
geometric features of highways.

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1.6.5 Braking characteristics

The deceleration and braking characteristics of vehicles depend on the design and of braking system
(such as mechanical, fluid or air brake) and its efficiency. The safety of vehicle operation, stopping
distance and the spacing between the two consecutive vehicles in a traffic stream are affected by the
braking capacity. Thus the highway capacity and overtaking sight distance requirements also
indirectly get affected.

1.7 Traffic Stream Characteristics

The traffic stream has some parameters on which the characteristics can be predicted. The parameters
can be mainly classified as: measurements of quantity, which includes density and flow of traffic and
measurements of quality which includes speed. The traffic stream parameters can be macroscopic
which characterizes the traffic as a whole or microscopic which studies the behavior of individual
vehicle in the stream with respect to each other. As far as the macroscopic characteristics are
concerned, they can be grouped as measurement of quantity or quality as described above, i.e. flow,
density, and speed.

1.7.1 Speed
Speed is considered as a quality measurement of travel as the drivers and passengers will be
concerned more about the speed of the journey than the design aspects of the traffic. It is defined as
the rate of motion in distance per unit of time. Mathematically speed or velocity v is given by,

where, v is the speed of the vehicle in m/s, d is distance traveled in m in time t seconds. Speed of
different vehicles will vary with respect to time and space. To represent this variation, several types of
speed can be defined: spot speed, running speed, journey speed, time mean speed and space mean
speed.

1.7.1.1 Spot speed

Spot speed is the instantaneous speed of a vehicle at a specified location. Spot speed can be used to
design the geometry of road like horizontal and vertical curves, super elevation etc. Location and size
of signs, design of signals, safe speed, and speed zone determination, require the spot speed data.
Accident analysis, road maintenance, and congestion also use spot speed data as the basic input. Spot
speed can be measured using an enoscope, pressure contact tubes or direct timing procedure or radar
speedometer or by time-lapse photographic methods.

1.7.1.2 Running speed

Running speed is the average speed maintained over a particular course while the vehicle is moving
and is found by dividing the length of the course by the time duration the vehicle was in motion, i.e.
this speed doesn’t consider the time during which the vehicle is brought to a stop, or has to wait till it
has a clear road ahead. The running speed will always be more than or equal to the journey speed, as
delays are not considered in calculating the running speed.

1.7.1.3 Journey speed

Journey speed is the effective speed of the vehicle on a journey between two points and is the distance
between the two points divided by the total time taken for the vehicle to complete the journey
including any stopped time. The spot speed here may vary from zero to some maximum in excess of

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the running speed. The running speed will always be more than or equal to the journey speed, as
delays are not considered in calculating the running speed.

1.7.1.4 Time mean speed and space mean speed

Time mean speed is defined as the average speed of all the vehicles passing a point on a highway over
some specified time period. It is the simple average of spot speed.

Space mean speed is defined as the average speed of all the vehicles occupying a given section of a
highway at a given instant. It is the harmonic mean of the spot speed.

Both mean speeds will always be different from each other except when all vehicles are traveling at
the same speed. Time mean speed is a point measurement while space mean speed is a measure
relating to length of highway or lane.

The relationship between time mean speed and space mean speed is given by:

𝜎𝑠2
𝑣𝑡 = 𝑣𝑠 +
𝑣𝑠
where 𝜎𝑠 is the standard deviation of space mean speed. From the equation it is clear that time mean
speed will always be greater than space mean speed.

1.7.2 Flow
Flow or volume is defined as the number of vehicles that pass a point on a highway or a given lane or
direction of a highway during a specific time interval. The measurement is carried out by counting the
number of vehicles, n passing a particular point in one lane in a defined period t. Then the flow q
expressed in vehicles/hour is given by:

1.7.2.1 Types of volume measurements

The variation of volume with time hour is also as important as volume calculation. Hence several
types of measurements of volume are commonly adopted which will average these variations into a
single volume count to be used in many design purposes:

1. Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT): The average 24-hour traffic volume at a given location
over a full 365-day year, i.e. the total number of vehicles passing the site in a year divided by 365.

2. Average Annual Weekday Traffic (AAWT): The average 24-hour traffic volume occurring on
weekdays over a full year. It is computed by dividing the total weekday traffic volume for the
year by 260.

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3. Average Daily Traffic (ADT): An average 24-hour traffic volume at a given location for some
period of time less than a year. It may be measured for six months, a season, a month, a week, or
as little as two days. An ADT is a valid number only for the period over which it was measured.

4. Average Weekday Traffic (AWT): An average 24-hour traffic volume occurring on weekdays
for some period of time less than one year, such as for a month or a season.

Volume in general is measured using different ways like manual counting, detector/sensor
counting, moving-car observer method, etc. Mainly the volume study establishes the importance of a
particular route with respect to the other routes, the distribution of traffic on road, and the fluctuations
in flow. All which eventually determine the design of a highway and the related facilities. Thus,
volume is treated as the most important of all the parameters of traffic stream.

1.7.3 Density
Density or concentration is defined as the number of vehicles occupying a given length of highway or
lane at a given instant of time and is generally expressed as vehicles per km. If the number of vehicles
in one lane of the road of length x at any point of time is n, and then density k is given by,

Density is the measure most directly related to traffic demand. Also it measures the proximity of
vehicles in the stream which in turn affects the freedom to maneuver and comfortable driving.

1.8 Fundamental Relations of Traffic Flow

The relationship between the fundamental variables of traffic flow, namely speed, volume, and
density is called the fundamental relations of traffic flow. The fundamental equation of traffic flow is:

1.8.1 Flow-density curve

The flow and density varies with time and location. The ideal flow-density curve is shown in Fig. 1.1.
The exact shape of flow-density curve will depend upon a number of factors. When the density is
zero, flow will also be zero, since there are no vehicles on the road. When the number of vehicles
gradually increases the density as well as flow increases. When more and more vehicles are added, it
reaches a situation where vehicles can’t move. This is referred to as the jam density or the maximum
density. At jam density, flow will be zero because the vehicles are not moving.

Fig. 1.1 Flow-density curve

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There will be some density between zero density and jam density, when the flow is
maximum. The maximum flow that can be accommodated in a road is the capacity of the road. The
slope of line joining origin O to any point D on the curve gives the space mean speed associated with
density k and flow q. OA is the tangent drawn to the parabola at O, and the slope of the line OA gives
the mean free flow speed, ie the speed with which a vehicle can travel when there is no flow.

1.8.3 Speed-density curve

When the density is zero, the speed will be maximum, referred to as the free flow speed. And when
the density is maximum, the speed will be zero. The ideal variation of speed with density is linear as
shown by the solid line in Fig. 1.2. Corresponding to the zero density, vehicles will be flowing with
their desire speed, or free flow speed. When the density is jam density, the speed of the vehicles
becomes zero. It is possible to have non-linear relationships as shown by the dotted lines.

Fig. 1.2 Speed-density curve

1.8.3 Speed-flow curve

The relationship between the speed and flow is shown in Fig. 1.3. The flow is zero either because
there is no vehicles or there are too many vehicles so that they cannot move. At maximum flow, the
speed will be in between zero and free flow speed uf . The maximum flow qmax occurs at speed u. It is
possible to have two different speeds for a given flow.

Fig. 1.3 Speed-flow curve

The diagrams showing the relationship between speed-flow, speed-density and flow-density are called
the fundamental diagrams of traffic flow.

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Fig. 1.4 Fundamental diagram of traffic flow