Lecture No.

5
Traffic Stream Characteristics

Chro Haider Ahmed

Ph.D. In Rail Transit System Planning and
Design

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

1. Introduction

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Traffic streams are made up of individual drivers and vehicles
interacting with each other and with the physical elements of the
roadway and its general environment. Because both driver behavior
and vehicle characteristics vary, individual vehicles within the traffic
stream do not behave in exactly the same manner. Further, no two
traffic streams will behave inexactly the same way, even in similar

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

circumstances because driver behavior varies with local
characteristics and driving habits.

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

1. Introduction

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In describing traffic streams in quantitative terms, the purpose is both
to understand the inherent variability in their characteristics and to
define normal ranges of behavior. To do so, key parameters must be
defined and measured. Traffic engineers analyze, evaluate and
ultimately plan improvements to traffic facilities based on such
parameters and their knowledge of normal ranges of behavior.

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

This lecture focuses on the definition and description of the parameters
most often used for this purpose and on the characteristics normally
observed in traffic streams. These parameters are, in effect the traffic
engineer's measure of reality, and they constitute a language with which
traffic streams are described and understood.

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

2. Types of Facilities

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Traffic facilities are broadly separated into two principal categories:
• Uninterrupted flow
• Interrupted flow

2.1 Uninterrupted Flow Facilities: have no external interruptions to the

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

traffic stream. Pure uninterrupted flow exists primarily on freeways,
where there are no intersections at grade, traffic signals, STOP or
YIELD signs, or other interruptions external to the traffic stream itself.
Although pure uninterrupted flow exists only on freeways. it can also
exist on sections of surface highway, most often in rural areas, where
there are long distances between fixed interruptions. As a very general
guideline, it is believed that uninterrupted flow can exist in situations
where the distance to the last traffic signal or other significant fixed
interruption is more than 3 km (2 miles).
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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

2.2 Interrupted Flow Facilities: are those that incorporate fixed

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external interruptions into their design and operation. The most
frequent and operationally significant external interruption is the
traffic signal. Other fixed interruptions include STOP and YIELD
signs, unsignalized at-grade intersections, driveways, curb parking
maneuvers, and other land-access operations. Virtually all urban
surface streets and highways are interrupted flow facilities.

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

5

Uninterrupted Flow Facilities Interrupted Flow Facilities

UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

3. Traffic Stream Parameters

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Traffic flow (stream) parameters falls into two main categories.
1) Macroscopic traffic stream: This category originated under an
assumption that traffic (flow) streams as a whole are comparable
to fluid (flow) stream. Three principal macroscopic parameters
that describe a traffic stream are:

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

(a) volume or rate of flow, (b) speed, and (c) density.

2) Microscopic traffic stream: This category describes the behavior

of individual vehicles with the traffic stream.
Microscopic parameters include:
(a) The speed of individual vehicles, (b) headway, and (c ) spacing

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

3.1 Macroscopic Traffic Stream

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3.1.1 Volume and Rate of Flow : traffic volume is a number of vehicles
passing a point on a highway, or on a given lane or direction of highway,
during a specified time interval. The unit of measurement for volume is
simply ‘vehicles’ although it is often expressed as ‘vehicles per unit
time’. Units of time used most often are ‘per day’ or ‘per hour’.

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Rates of flow are generally stated in units of ‘vehicles per hour’ but

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represent flows that exist for periods of time less than one hour. For
example, a volume of 200 vehicles observed over a 15-minute period may
be expressed as a rate of 200 x4 = 800 vehicles/hour, even though 800
vehicles would not be observed if the full hour was counted. The 800
vehicles/hour becomes a rate of flow that exists for a 15-minute interval.

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

 Daily Volumes: Daily volumes are used to document annual trends in
highway usage . forecasts based on observed trends can be used to
help plan improved or new facilities to accommodate increasing
demand. Four daily volume parameters are widely used in traffic
engineering:

1. Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT): The average 24-hour volume

at a given location over a full 365-day year; the number of vehicles
passing a site in a year divided by 365 days. 8
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

2. Average Annual Weekday Traffic (AAWT): The average 24-hour

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volume occurring on weekdays over a full 365-day year; the
number of vehicles passing a site on weekdays in a year divided by
the number of weekdays

3. Average Daily Traffic (ADT): The average 24-hour volume at a

given location over a defined time period less than one year; a

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common application is to measure an ADT for each month of the
year.
4. Average Weekday Traffic (AWT): The average 24-hour weekday
volume at a given location over a defined time period less than one
year; a common application is to measure an AWT for each month
of the year.
All of these volumes are states in terms of vehicles per day (veh/day) .
Table 1 illustrates the compilation of these daily volumes based on one
year of count data at a sample location. 9
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Table 1 : illustration of Daily Volume Parameters

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Dr. Chro H. Ahmed
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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

The sample data of Table 1 gives a capsule description of the

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character of the facility on which it was measured. Note that ADTs
are significantly higher than AWTs in each month. This suggests that
the facility is serving a recreational or vacation area, with traffic
strongly peaking on weekends.
Also both AWTs and ADTs are highest during the summer months,
suggesting that the facility serves a warm-weather

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

recreational/vacation area. Thus, if a detailed study were needed to
provide data for an upgrading of this facility, the period to focus on
would be weekends during the summer.

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

 Hourly Volumes: Daily volumes, although useful for planning

purposes, cannot be used alone for design or operational analysis

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purposes. Volume varies considerably over the 24hours of the day,
with periods of maximum flow occurring during the morning and
evening commuter ‘rush hour’. The single hour of the day that has
the highest hourly volume is referred to as the peak hour. The traffic
volume within this hour is of greatest interest to traffic engineers for

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design and operational analysis usage.

 The peak-hour volume is generally stated as a directional volume (i.e.,

each direction of flow is counted separately). Highways and controls
must be designed to adequately serve the peak-hour traffic volume
in the peak direction of flow. Because traffic going one way during
the morning peak is going the opposite way during the evening
peak. both sides of a facility must generally be designed to
accommodate the peak directional flow during the peak hour. Where
the directional disparity is significant the concept of reversible lanes 12
is sometimes useful.
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

In design peak-hour volumes are sometimes estimated from projections

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of the AADT. Traffic forecasts are most often cast in terms of AADTs
based on documented trends and/or forecasting models. Because daily
volumes, such as the AADT, are more stable than hourly volumes,
projections can be more confidently made using them. AADTs are
converted to a peak-hour volume in the peak direction of flow. This is
referred to as the ‘directional design hour volume’ (DDHV) and is found

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using the following relationship:

𝑫𝑫𝑯𝑽 = 𝑨𝑨𝑫𝑻 × 𝑲 × 𝑫
Where:
K= proportion of daily traffic occurring during the peak hour
𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝐷𝐻𝑉
K= =
𝐷𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝐴𝐴𝐷𝑇
D= proportion of peak hour traffic traveling in the peak direction of
flow 13
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
D= x 100……………(50-80)%
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

For design, the K factor often represents the proportion of AADT

occurring during the 30th peak hour of the year. If the 365 peak hour

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volumes of the year at a given location are listed in descending order,
the 30th peak hour is 30th on the list and represents a volume that is
exceeded in only 29 hours of the year.

𝐾 = (30𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟)/𝐴𝐴𝐷𝑇

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

Factors K and D are based on local or regional characteristics at
existing locations. Table 2 indicates general ranges for K and D factors.

Table 2: general ranges for K and D factors.

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

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Dr. Chro H. Ahmed
Example: rural highway has (20years) forecast of AADT of (30000 vpd )
what range of directional design hour volume might be expected for this
situation ?

Solution:
DDHV = AADT ×K ×D
15
DDHV low = 30000×0.15×0.65 = 2925 vph/dir.
DDHV high = 30000×0.25×0.8 = 6000 vph/dir.
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Example: a rural highway on a level terrain has the following traffic

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composition:
50% passenger cars
30% trucks
10% buses
10% recreational vehivles
Find the total volume expressed as pcu if the total volume is 5000 veh.

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

Solution:
Number of passenger cars= 0.5*5000=2500
Number of Trucks =0.3*5000=1500
Number of buses=0.1*5000=500
Number of recreational vehicles=0.1*5000=500
Total pcu = 2500*1 + 1500*1.5 + 500*1.5 + 500*1.2
= 2500 + 2250 + 750 + 600 = 6100 pcu
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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Example: The projected AADT of a proposed facility is 33,000

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veh/day. If the proportion of AADT in the design hour is 16 percent
and the peak-hour directional distribution is 65:35, estimate the
directional design hourly volume DDHV.

Solution:
DDHV = 33,000 × 0.16 × 0.65 = 3,430 vph

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

Example: Suppose the hourly volume in east- and west-bound
directions of a highway are 1,300 and 2,200 vph during the peak hour,
respectively. Note that the west-bound direction has the higher
volume, therefore, it is the peak direction, and estimate the directional
split factor D.

Solution:
The combined volume in both directions is:
1,300 + 2,200 = 3,500 vph 17
D = 2200/3500 = 0.63 = 63%
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

 Sub hourly Volumes and Rates of Flow: Although hourly traffic volumes

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form the basis for many forms of traffic design and analysis, the
variation of traffic within a given hour is also of considerable
interest. The quality of traffic flow is often related to short-term
fluctuations in traffic demand. A facility may have sufficient
capacity to serve the peak-hour demand, but short-term peaks of
flow within the hour may exceed capacity and create a breakdown.

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

•
Volumes observed for periods of less than one hour are generally
expressed as equivalent hourly rates of flow. For example, 1000
vehicles counted over a 15-minute interval could be expressed as
1000vehs/0.25h=4000 veh/h. The rate of flow of 4000 veh/h is valid
for the 15-minute period in which the volume of 1000 vehicles was
observed. Table 3 illustrates the difference between volumes and rates
of flow.
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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Table 3: Illustration of volumes and rates of flow.

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•

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

The full hourly volume is the sum of the four 15-minute to volume
observations, or 4.200 veh/h. The rate of flow for of each I5-minute
interval is the volume observed for that interval divided by the 0.25
hours over which it was observed. In the worst period of time 5:30 to
5:45 the rate of is 4800 veh/h. This is rate, not a volume. The actual
volume for the hour is only 4200 veh/h.
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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Table 4 compares the demand and capacity for each of the 15-

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minute intervals. The queue at the end of each period can be
computed as the queue at the beginning of the period plus the
arriving vehicles minus the departing vehicles.
Even though the capacity of this segment over the full hour is
equal to the peak-hour demand volume (4,200 veh/h), at the end of
the hour, there remains a queue of 50 vehicles that has not been

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

served. Although this illustration shows that a queue exists for
three of four I5-minute periods within the peak hour the dynamics
of queue clearance may continue to affect traffic negatively for
longer.
Table 4: Queuing Analysis for the Data of table 3

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Because of these types of impacts, it is often necessary to design

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facilities and analyze traffic conditions for a period of maximum rate
of the peak hour. For most practical purposes, 15 minutes is considered
to be the minimum period of over which traffic conditions are
statistically stable. Although rates of flow can be computed for any
period of time and researchers often use rates for periods of five
minutes.

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

The relationship between the hourly volume and the maximum rate of
flow within the hour is defined by the peak-hour factor, as follows:
𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
𝑃𝐻𝐹 =
𝑀𝑎𝑥 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤
For standard 15-minute analysis period, this becomes:

𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
𝑃𝐻𝐹 =
4 × 𝑉𝑚15
Where: PHF= peak-hour factor, 21
Vm15 = Maximum 15-minute volume within the hour, vehs
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

• The maximum possible value for the PHF is 1.00, which occurs
when the volume in each interval is constant.

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• The minimum value occurs when the entire hourly volume occurs
in a single 15-minute interval. In this case, the PHF becomes 0.25
and represents the most extreme case of volume variation within
the hour.
• In practical terms, the PHF generally varies between a low 0.70

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

for rural and developed areas to 0.98 in dense urban areas.
• When the value is known, it can be used to estimate a maximum
flow rate within an hour based on the full-hour volume:
𝑉
𝑣=
𝑃𝐻𝐹
Where: v= maximum rate of flow within the hour, veh/h
V= hourly volume, veh/h
PHF=peak-hour factor.
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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Example: traffic volume data has been collected for 15 min time
intervals as shown below. Find the total hourly volume, flow rate

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and peak hour factor (PHF).

Time 7:30-7:45 7:45-8:00 8:00-8:15 8:15-8:30

Volume 250 350 300 200

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Solution:
Volume = 250+350+300+200 = 1100 veh
Flow rate (q) = peak volume * number of intervals per 1 hour
= 350 * 4 = 1400 veh/hr
PHF=1100/1400=0.786

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Example: traffic volume data has been collected for 10 min time intervals as

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shown below. Find the total hourly volume, flow rate and PHF.

Time 7:30-7:40 7:40-7:50 7:50-8:00 8:00-8:10 8:10-8:20 8:20-8:30

Volume 150 200 300 200 150 100

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

Solution:
Volume = 150+200+300+200+150+100= 1100 veh
Flow rate (q) = peak volume * number of intervals per 1 hour
= 300 * 6 = 1800 veh/hr
PHF=1100/1800=0.61

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

3.1.2 Speed and Travel Time: speed is the second macroscopic

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parameter describing the state of a traffic stream. Speed is defined as a
rate of motion in distance per unit time. Travel rime is the time taken
to traverse a defined section of roadway.
Speed and travel time are inversely related:

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𝑆=
𝑡

Where:
S= speed, unit of distance per unit of time
d= distance traversed, unit of distance
t= time to traverse distance d, unit of time

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

An average speed for a traffic stream can be computed in two ways:

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• Time mean speed (TMS): the average speed of all vehicles passing a
point on a highway or lane over some specified time period.

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• Space mean speed (SMS): the average speed of all vehicles occupying
a given section of highway or lane over some specified time period.

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In essence, time mean speed is a point measure whereas space mean
speed describes a length of highway or lane.
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

• The space mean speed is usually lower than the corresponding time
mean speed.

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• The two speed measures may conceivably be equal if all vehicles in the
section are traveling at exactly the same speed.
• Both the time mean speed and space mean speed can be computed
from a series of measured travel times over a specified distance

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

𝑑
𝑆𝑀𝑆 = 𝑖 (𝑑 𝑡𝑖 )
𝑇𝑀𝑆 =
𝑖 𝑡𝑖 𝑛 𝑛

Where: TMS = time mean speed, SMS = space mean speed, d= distance
traversed , n= number of observed vehicles, 𝑡𝑖 =time for vehicle ‘i’ to
traverse the section .
Relationship between time mean speed and space mean speed:
𝑠2
𝑇𝑀𝑆 = 𝑆𝑀𝑆 + 27
𝑆𝑀𝑆
Where: s 2 = variance
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

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Dr. Chro H. Ahmed
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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Example: Assume a stretch of highway 1 km long, an observer

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measures the time needed for each vehicle to travel this distance, the
data is presented below. Find the mean speeds and check TMS value
using relationship equation between TMS and SMS.
•
No. of Vehicle Time Required by each (min)
10 1.0

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15 1.2
20 1.5
5 2.0

𝐷 1
𝑆𝑀𝑆 = = = 44 𝑘𝑝ℎ
𝑡 10 × 1 + 15 × 1.2 + 20 × 1.5 + 5 × 2.0 10 + 15 + 20 + 5

1 1 1
𝐷 10×1+15×1.2+20×1.5+5×1/2
Arithmetic Mean = 𝑇𝑀𝑆 = = 𝑡 10+15+20+5
= 46 𝑘𝑝ℎ

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Checking:

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No. of Vehicle Time Required by each (min)
10 1.0
15 1.2
20 1.5

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5 2.0

𝑆𝑖 − 𝑆𝑀𝑆 2 𝑠2
𝑠2 = 𝑇𝑀𝑆 = 𝑆𝑀𝑆 +
𝑁−1 𝑆𝑀𝑆

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
×60−44 ×10+ ×60−44 ×15+ ×60−44 ×20+ ×60−44 ×5
𝑠2 = 1 1.2 1.5 2
=89.8
50−1

𝑠2 89.8
𝑇𝑀𝑆 = 𝑆𝑀𝑆 + = 44 + = 46 𝑘𝑝ℎ
𝑆𝑀𝑆 44 30
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Example: If the spot speeds are 50, 40, 60, 54 and 45, then find the

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time mean speed and space mean speed.
Solution:
Time mean speed 𝑇𝑀𝑆 is the average of spot speed. Therefore,
50+40+60+54+45
TMS= = 49.8
5
Space mean speed is the harmonic mean of spot speed. Therefore,

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5
𝑆𝑀𝑆 = = 48.82
1 50 + 1 40 + 1 60 + 1 54 + 1 45

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

 Illustration of mean speeds: In order to understand the concept of

time mean speed and space mean speed, following illustration
will help.
Let there be a road stretch having two sets of vehicle as in figure below.
The first vehicle is traveling at 10m/s with 50 m spacing, and the second
set at 20m/s with 100m spacing. Therefore, the headway of the slow
vehicle ℎ𝑠 will be 50 m divided by 10 m/s which is 5 sec. Therefore, the

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number of slow moving vehicles observed at A in one hour 𝑛𝑠 will be
60/5= 12vehicles.

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

The density K is the number of vehicles in 1 km, and is the inverse of

spacing. Therefore, 𝐾𝑠 = 1000 / 50 = 20 vehicles/km. Therefore, by

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definition, time mean speed TMS is given by
12 𝑋 10 +12 𝑋 20
TMS= = 15 m/s
24
Similarly, by definition, space mean speed is the mean of vehicle speeds
over time. Therefore,
20𝑋 10 + 10 𝑋 20

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𝑆𝑀𝑆 = = 13.3 𝑚/𝑠
30
This is same as the harmonic mean of spot speeds obtained at location
A;
24 𝑚
i.e., 𝑆𝑀𝑆 = 1 1 = 13.3
12×10+12×20 𝑠

It may be noted that since harmonic mean is always lower than the
arithmetic mean, and also as observed, space mean speed is always lower
than the time mean speed. In other words, space mean speed weights
slower vehicles more heavily as they occupy the road stretch for longer 33
duration of time. For this reason, in many fundamental traffic equations,
space mean speed is preferred over time mean speed.
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

3.1.3 Density and Occupancy

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 Density, the third primary measure of traffic stream
characteristics, is defined as the number of vehicles occupying a
given length of highway or lane, generally expressed as vehicles per
mile or vehicles per mile per lane.

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Density is difficult to measure directly because an elevated
vantage point from which the highway section under study may
be observed is required. It is often computed either from:
• Speed and flow rate measurements.
• Occupancy
-

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

 Density however, is perhaps the most important of the three

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primary traffic stream parameters because it is the measure most
directly related to traffic demand. Demand does not occur as a rate
of flow, even though traffic engineers use this parameters the
principal measure of demand. Traffic is generated from various
land uses, injecting a number of vehicles into a confined roadway
space. This process creates a density of vehicles. Drivers select

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speeds that are consistent with how close they are to other vehicles.
The speed and density combine to give the observed rate of flow.

 Density is also an important measure of the quality of traffic flow

because it is a measure of the proximity of other vehicles, a factor
that influences freedom to maneuver and the psychological comfort
of drivers.

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

 Occupancy, Although density is difficult to measure directly. Modern

detectors can measure occupancy, which is a parameter. Occupancy is

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defined as the proportion of time that a detector is or covered, by a
vehicle in defined time period.

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

Where:
D = Density veh/mile/lane; 𝐿𝑣 = is the average length of a vehicle 36
(ft); 𝐿𝑑 = is the length of the detector (which is normally a magnetic
loop detector); O=is occupancy over a given detector
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

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Example: Consider a case in which a detector records an occupancy of
0.200 for a 15-minutes analysis period. If the average length of a vehicle
is 28 ft, and the detector is 3 ft long, what is the density?

5280×0.200
𝐷= = 34.1 veh/mile/lane
28+3

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

Example: Consider a case in which a detector records an occupancy of
0.250 for a 30-minutes analysis period. If the average length of a vehicle
is 29 ft, the density is 41.9 veh/mile/lane, what is the length of the
detector?

5280 × 0.250
41.9 = → 𝐿𝑑 = 2.5 𝑓𝑡
29 + 𝐿𝑑

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

3.2 Microscopic Parameters

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Although flow. speed, and density descriptors for the entire traffic
stream, they can be related to microscopic parameters that describe
individual vehicles within the traffic stream or specific pairs of
vehicles within the traffic stream.
The microscopic parameters include:
(1) The speed of individual vehicles,

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.

(2) headway, and

(3 ) spacing .

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

3.2.1 Spacing: Spacing is defined as the distance between successive

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vehicles in a traffic lane, measured from some common reference point
on the vehicles, such as the front bumper or front wheels.

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

The average spacing in a traffic lane can be directly related to the
density of the lane:
5280
𝐷=
𝑑𝑎
Where:
D = density, veh/mile/lane
𝑑𝑎= average spacing between vehicles in the lane, ft 39
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

3.2.2 Headway: Headway is defined as the time interval between

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successive vehicles as they pass a point along the lane, measured
between common reference points on the vehicles.

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

The average headway in a lane is directly related to the rate of flow:

3600
𝑣=
ℎ𝑎
Where:
v= rate of flow, veh/h/lane
ℎ𝑎 = average headway in the lane, second 40
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

4. Use of Microscopic Measures

02/04/2022
• Microscopic measures are useful for many traffic analysis purposes.
Because a spacing and/or a headway may be obtained for every pair of
vehicles, the amount of data that can be collected in a short period of
time is relatively large. A traffic stream with a volume of 1,000
vehicles over a 15-minute time period results in a single value of rate

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

of flow. space mean speed, and density when observed. There would
be, however, 1,000 headway and spacing measurements. assuming that
all vehicle pairs were observed.
• Use of microscopic measures also allows various vehicle types to be
isolated in the traffic stream. Passenger car flows and densities, for
example, could be derived from isolating spacing and headway for
pairs of passenger cars following each other. Heavy vehicles could be
similarly isolated and studied for their specific characteristics.

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Average speed can also be computed from headway and

02/04/2022
spacing measurements as:
𝑑𝑎 ℎ𝑎
𝑆= = 0.68 𝑑𝑎 ℎ𝑎
1.47

Where:
S= average speed, mile/h

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

Example: Traffic in a congested multilane highway lane is observed To
have an average spacing of 200 ft and an average of 3.8 seconds.
Estimate the rate of flow, density, and speed of traffic in this lane.
Solution:
3600
𝑣= = 94 veh/hr/lane
3.8
5280
𝐷 = = 26.4 veh/mile/lane
200
42
𝑆 = 0.68 200 3.8 =35.8 mil/hr
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

4. Relationships among Flow Rate, Speed, and Density

02/04/2022
The three macroscopic measures of the state of a given traffic stream-
flow, speed, and density-are related as follows:
𝑣 =𝑆×𝐷
where: v = rate of flow, veh/h or veh/h/ln; S=space mean speed, mi/h;
D = density, veh/mi or veh/mi/ln

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

Space mean speed and density are measures that refer to a specific
section of a lane or highway, whereas flow rate is a point measure. The
space mean speed and density measures must apply to the same defined
section of roadway.
Under stable flow conditions (i.e., the flow entering and leaving the
section are the same; no queues are forming within the section), the rate
of flow computed by the above equation applies to point within the
section.
Where unstable operations exist (a queue is forming within the section), 43
the computed flow rate represents an average for all points within the
section.
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

• If a freeway lane were observed to have a space mean speed of 55

02/04/2022
mile/h and a density of 25 veh/mile/lane, the flow rate in the lane
could be estimated as:
𝑣 = 𝑆 × 𝐷 = 55 × 25 = 1375 veh/h/lane

• consider a freeway lane with a measured space mean speed of 60

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

mile/h and a flow rate of 1000 veh/h/lane. The density could be
estimated as:
𝑣 1000
𝐷= = =`6.7 veh/mile/lane
𝑆 60

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

5. Fundamental Diagrams of Traffic Flow

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The relation between flow and density, density and speed, speed and
flow, can be represented with the help of some curves. They are
referred to as the fundamental diagrams of traffic flow.

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

45

Fundamental diagram of traffic flow

UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Note that a flow rate of 0 veh/h occurs under two very different

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conditions:
1. When there are no vehicles on the highway, density is 0 veh/mile
and no vehicles can be observed passing a point. Under this
condition, speed is unmeasurable and is referred to as free-flow
speed.
2. A flow of 0 veh/h also occurs when there are so many vehicles on

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

the road that all motion stops. This occurs at a very high density,
called the ‘jam density’, and no flow is observed because no vehicle
can pass a point to be counted when all vehicles are stopped.

46
UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

• Between these two extreme points on the relationships, there is a

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peaking characteristic. The peak of the flow-speed and flow-density
curves is the maximum rate of flow (capacity of the roadway)
• The dashed portion of the curves represents unstable or forced flow.
This effectively represents flow within a queue that has formed
behind a breakdown location (a breakdown will occur at any point
where the arriving flow rate exceeds the downstream capacity of the

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

facility).
• The solid line portion of the curves represents stable flow (i.e.,
moving traffic streams that can be maintained over a period of time)

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UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Except for capacity flow, any flow rate may exist under two
conditions:

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1. A condition of relatively high speed and low density (on the stable
portion of flow relationships)
2. A condition of relatively low speed and high density (on the
unstable portion of flow relationships).

Example: A volume of 1,200 veh/h is observed at an intersection

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

approach. Find the peak rate of flow within the hour for
the following peak-hour factors: 1.00, 0.90, 0.80, 0.70. comment on the
results.
𝑉
Solution: 𝑃𝐻𝐹 =
𝑀𝑎𝑥 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤
PHF 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
V
1200 1714 1500 1333 1200
48

Therefor, if PHF increases the max rate of flow will decrease.

UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

Example: A traffic stream displays average vehicle headways of 2.2 s

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at 50 mi/h. Compute the density and rate of flow for this traffic
stream.

Solution:

ha=2.4 sec, S=50 mile/hr

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

𝑆 = 0.68 𝑑𝑎 ℎ𝑎 → 50 =0.68 (𝑑𝑎 /2.2)→ 𝑑𝑎 = 161.8 𝑓𝑡

5280 5280
𝐷= = 161.8 =33veh/mile/lane
𝑑𝑎

3600 3600
𝑣= = = 1636 veh/hr/lane
ℎ𝑎 2.2

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Speed –Density Curve

UOS-College of Engineering Civil Eng. Dept Traffic Eng.

H.W1: The following counts were taken on a major arterial during the
evening peak period:

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From this data, determine:
a) The peak hour.
b) The peak hour volume.
c) The peak flow rate within the peak hour.

Dr. Chro H. Ahmed

d) The peak hour factor (PHF).

H.W2: A lane on a freeway displays the following characteristics: the

average headway between vehicles is 2.8 s, and the average spacing
between vehicles is 235 ft. What is the rate of flow for the lane? What is
the average speed (in mi/h)?

50
Thank you

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