CE 4361

Transportation Engineering

Lecture #3: Characteristics of Driver,

Pedestrian, Vehicle & Road

January 28, 2016

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 Scope of Course

• Transportation Systems
• Traffic Operations
• Transportation Planning
• Geometric Designs
• Materials & Pavements

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 Traffic Operations

• Chapter 3 – Characteristics of Driver, Pedestrian, Vehicle

& Road
• Chapter 4 – Traffic Engineering Studies
• Chapter 5 – Highway Safety
• Chapter 6 – Fundamental Principles of Traffic Flow
• Chapter 7 – Intersection Design
• Chapter 8 – Intersection Control
• Chapter 9 – Capacity and Level of Service of Highway
Segments
• Chapter 10 – Capacity and Level of Service at Signalized
Intersections
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 Debate
• 9 Topics (3 categories)
• 9 Groups (6 in each group)
• February 16 (Tuesday)
o Presentation: 5 minutes
o Rebuttal: 2 min/2 min
• Report: Due February 16 (Tuesday)
o Cover page
o Table of Contents
o Figures & Tables
o Contents (5 to 7 pages: 11 fonts (Times New Roman), single spaced)
o References
• Grading
o Presentation & Rebuttal
a. Instructor (quality & time) : 25 %
b. Audience: 25 %
o Report: 50 %
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 Debate Topics

• Urban Passenger Mode: Cars

• Urban Passenger Mode: Buses
• Urban Passenger Mode: Rail
• Urban Passenger Mode: Bicycles

• Medium-Distance Passenger Travel: High-speed Rail

• Medium-Distance Passenger Travel: Buses
• Medium-Distance Passenger Travel: Airlines

• Long-Distance Freight: Rail

• Long-Distance Freight: Trucks

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 Learning Objectives

• Become familiar with main components of the highway mode.

• Understand the relationships among different components of the
highway mode.
• Become familiar with the characteristics of the driver, vehicle, and
the highway.
• Understand how the driver and vehicle characteristics influence the
geometric design of highway.

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 Main Components of Highway Mode

• Driver
• Pedestrian
• Vehicle
• Roadway

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 Outline

• Driver Characteristics
• Pedestrian Characteristics
(Bicyclists and Bicycles Characteristics)
• Vehicle Characteristics
• Road Characteristics

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 Driver Characteristics
• Responsiveness to roadway situations
o Expected situations (roadway characteristics, traffic control signs, markings)

o Unexpected situations (objects on the roadway)

• Driving skills & perceptual abilities

o Driver dependent (age)

o Condition dependent (fatigue, intoxication)

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Vision

• Visual Acuity
o Ability to see fine details of an object
o Static & Dynamic Visual Acuity
o Best visual acuity at cone vision (3-5°around axis of eye)
o Reasonable acuity at 10-12°
• Peripheral vision (12-160°)
• Color vision
• Glare Vision and Recovery
• Depth perception: the ability to see objects in three dimensions and
estimate speed and distance

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Driver Response to Roadway Situations

• Perception
o Sees the object, passenger or vehicle.
• Identification
o Identifies the object or control device, understands stimulus.
• Emotion
o Decides what action to take (evasive or braking action).
• Reaction or Volition
o Executes the action decided.
• Perception-Reaction (or PIEV) Time
o AASHTO recommends 2.5 sec (could be higher)

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 Distance Traveled during Perception-
Reaction Time (Ex 3.2)
• A driver with PIEV time of 2.5 sec is driving at 65 mph when she
observed that an accident has blocked the road ahead. Determine
the distance the vehicle would move before the driver could activate
the brakes.

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Older Drivers

• Administration on Aging – about 20 % of US population aged 60+

by 2030
• Affects
o Acuity
o Night vision
o Cone of vision
o Perception-reaction time
• Roadways with a lot of older drivers likely require increased
stopping sight distance.

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 Pedestrian Characteristics
• Visual & hearing characteristics
• Walking characteristics
o Typical speeds: 3-8 ft/sec
o MUTCD* recommends 4 ft/sec.
o Variations based on age, sex, disability
• Older Pedestrians
o 3.0 ft/sec when number over 20%
• Handicapped pedestrians
• Pedestrian control devices

*MUTCD – Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices 14

 Vehicle Characteristics

• Static Characteristics
o Vehicle type, size & weight (Tables 3.1,3.2, Fig. 3.1)
o Low speed turning radii (Figures 3.2, 3.3)
o Tires (Studded tires, super singles)

• Kinematic Characteristics
o Speed, acceleration/deceleration

• Dynamic Characteristics
o Resistance to travel
o Braking distance
o Circular horizontal curves/Parabolic vertical curves

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 Static Characteristics
Vehicle Types

 Also refer to Figure 3.1

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Limits on Vehicle Lengths & Maximum Weight

Table 3.1
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Vehicle Size Limits in Texas

• The following maximum dimensions may be operated on Texas

highways without a permit:

o Width: 8’6”
o Height: 14’
o Length (includes any front/rear overhang)
1) Single motor vehicle 45 feet
2) Truck-tractor Unlimited
3) Semitrailer, of two-vehicle combination 59 feet
4) Two- or three-vehicle combination 65 feet
5) Each trailer or semitrailer of a twin-trailer combination 28.5 feet
6) Traditional boat/auto transporter combination 65 feet
7) Commercial truck & stinger-steered semitrailer 75 feet
8) Front overhang 3 feet
9) Rear overhang 4 feet

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Vehicle Weight Limits in Texas

• Gross – 80,000 pounds maximum

• Single axle – 20,000 pounds
• Tandem axle group – 34,000 pounds
• Triple axle group – 42,000 pounds
• Quad axle group – 50,000 pounds

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Four General Classes of Vehicles by AASHTO

• Passenger cars – includes SUVs, minivans, vans, pick-up trucks

• Buses
• Trucks
• Recreational vehicles
• A total of 19 different design vehicles

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Design Vehicle
• AASHTO Recommendations

o Parking lot(s): passenger car

o Intersections on residential streets: single unit truck
o Intersections of state highways and city streets that serve buses: city transit
bus
o Intersection of highways with low-volume county and township with low
volume: large school bus
o Intersection of freeway ramp and arterials: WB-20 (WB 65-67)

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Design Vehicle

Table 3.1
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Different Types of Trucks

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Example Truck Turning Radius

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 Kinematic Characteristics
• Acceleration capability of vehicle
• Acceleration
oPrimary element of kinematic characteristics
oTraffic operations
i. Passing maneuvers
ii. Gap acceptance
oHighway features:
i. Freeway ramps
ii. Passing lanes

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 Dynamic Characteristics

• Air resistance
• Grade resistance
• Rolling resistance
• Curve resistance
• Power requirements
• Braking Distance

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Braking Distance

• Braking

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AASHTO recommends 11.2 ft/sec2 as a deceleration rate.
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 Determining Braking Distance (Ex 3.6)

• A student trying to test the braking ability of her car determined that
she needed 18.5 ft more to stop her car when driving downhill on a
road segment of 5 % grade than when driving downhill at he same
speed along another segment of 3 % grade. Determine the speed at
which the student conducted her test and the braking distance on
the 5 % grade if the student is traveling at the test speed in the uphill
direction.

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 Determining Braking Distance (Ex 3.7)

• A motorist traveling at 65 mph on an expressway intends to leave the

expressway using an exit ramp with a maximum speed of 35 mph. At
what point on the expressway should the motorist step on her brakes
in order to reduce her speed to the maximum allowable on the ramp
just before entering the ramp, if this section of the expressway has a
downgrade of 3 %?

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Estimation of Velocities

• Step 1: Measure the length of the skid marks.

• Step 2: Determine the coefficient of friction, or use 0.35.

• Step 3: Estimate the velocity uu, just prior to impact.

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 Estimating Speed of a Vehicle from Skid
Marks (Ex 3.9)
• In an attempt to estimate the speed of a vehicle just before it hit a
traffic signal pole, a traffic engineer measured the length of the skid
marks and performed trial runs at the site to obtain an estimate of
the coefficient of the friction. Determine the estimated unknown
velocity of the vehicle when the brakes are applied.
o Length of skid marks: 585, 590, 580, 595 ft
o Speed of the trial run: 30 mph
o Distance traveled during trial run: 300 ft
o Estimate of speed of the vehicle at impact: 35 mph

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 Summary

• Four main components of highway mode are: driver, pedestrian,

vehicle, and roadway
• Perception-Reaction (or PIEV) Time: 2.5 sec
• Four general classes of vehicles by AASHTO: passenger vehicles,
buses, trucks, RVs
• Physical relationships among vehicle characteristics and roadway
conditions (grade, surface friction) are used to derive braking
distance, minimum radius of a circular curve, or other variables.

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