Traffic Engineering Studies

COVERAGE:
(1) SPEED STUDIES, (2) VOLUME STUDIES
(3) PARKING STUDIES, (4) ACCIDENT STUDEIS

• SPOT SPEED STUDIES

– Spot speed studies are conducted to
estimate the distribution of speeds of
vehicles in a stream of traffic at a particular
location on a highway.
– carried out by recording the speeds of a
sample of vehicles at a specified location.
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• SPOT SPEED STUDIES

Used to:
– Establish parameters for
traffic operation and control, such as:
• speed zones,
• speed limits (85th-percentile speed)
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• Locations for Spot Speed Studies
– Represent different traffic conditions on a
highway for basic data collection.
– Mid-blocks of urban highways and straight,
level sections of rural highways for speed trend
analyses.
– Any location may be used for solution of a
specific traffic engineering problem.
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• Locations for Spot Speed Studies

Should be selected to achieve the following:

– Unbiased data
– Drivers be unaware
– Equipment concealed from the driver,
– Observers inconspicuous.
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• Locations for Spot Speed Studies
– statistical analysis,
– statistically adequate number of vehicle speeds
be recorded.
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• Time of Day and Duration of
Spot Speed Studies
– depends on the purpose of the study.
– recommended when traffic is free-flowing,
– during off-peak hours.
– typically:
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• Sample Size for Spot Speed Studies
– The larger the sample size, will give an
estimated mean within acceptable error limits.
• Average Speed
• Median Speed
• Modal Speed
• The ith-percentile Spot Speed
• Pace
• Standard Deviation of Speeds
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• Methods for Conducting Spot Speed
Studies
– manual and automatic
– manual method is seldom used
– automatic devices
1. road detectors
2. radar-based
3. the principles of electronics.
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• Road Detectors
– pneumatic road tubes & induction loops collect
data on speeds & volume at the same time
– Advantage:
• Human errors are considerably reduced
– Disadvantages:
• expensive
• may, affect driver behavior,
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• Pneumatic road tubes
– laid across the lane in which data are to be
collected.
– When moving vehicle passes over, an air
impulse is transmitted to the counter.
– two tubes are placed across the lane, 2 m apart.
– An impulse is recorded when the front wheels
of a moving vehicle pass over the first tube;
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• Pneumatic road tubes
– a second impulse is recorded when the front
wheels pass over the second tube.
– The time elapsed between the two impulses
and the distance between the tubes are used to
compute the speed of the vehicle.
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• inductive loop
– a rectangular wire loop buried under the
roadway surface.
– It operates on the principle that a disturbance
in the electrical field is created when a motor
vehicle passes across it.
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• Radar-Based Traffic Sensors
• Electronic-Principle Detectors
– traffic characteristics, such as speed, volume,
queues, and headways are computed.
– Using video image processing
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(a) RTMS Deployed in the Forward Looking Mode

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(b) RTMS Deployed in the Side-fire Mode

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(a) Schematic Illustration

of the Auto scope
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(b) The Auto scope Deployed
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• Presentation and Analysis of Spot Speed
Data
– Statistical methods
– Analyzing data
– frequency histogram
– cumulative frequency distribution curve
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• Example
Determining Speed Characteristics from a Set
of Speed Data.
Table 4.2 shows the data collected on a rural
highway in Virginia during a speed study. Develop
the frequency histogram and the frequency
distribution of the data and determine:
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Table 4.2 Speed Data Obtained on a Rural Highway

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• Solution:
• The speeds range from 34.8 to 65.0 km/h, giving a
speed range of 30.2.
• For eight classes, the range per class is 3.75 km/h;
• for 20 classes, the range per class is 1.51 km/h.
• It is convenient to choose a range of 2 km/h per class
which will give 16 classes.
• A frequency distribution table can then be prepared, as
shown in Table 4.3.
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Table 4.3 Frequency Distribution Table for Set of Speed Data

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Figure 4.4 Histogram of Observed Vehicles' Speeds

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1. The arithmetic mean speed
2. The standard deviation
3. The median speed
4. The pace
5. The mode or modal speed
6. The 85th-percentile speed
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Figure 4.5 Frequency Distribution

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Figure 4.6 Cumulative Distribution

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• The median speed 49 km/h,
the 50th-percentile speed.
• 85th-percentile speed is 54 km/h
 TE-CIVIL ASSIGNMENT-2
Due Date 10th August, 2018
USING EARLIER SUBMITTED YOUR OWN 5-MIN
TRAFFIC VIDEO, DO THE FOLLOWING:
1. Extract speeds of 300 vehicles, one from each frame
2. Develop %Frequency & %Cumulative Frequency
Tables, and Compute 85th Percentile speed
3. Write report covering methodology, data and results
4. File submission by email EXCEL FILE ONLY
5. File name CE-***** (five digit roll number)
Volume studies
 Traffic Engineering Studies
• VOLUME STUDIES
1. Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
the average of 24-hour counts collected every
day of the year.
2. Average Daily Traffic (ADT)
the average of 24-hour counts collected over a
number of days greater than one but less than
a year.
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• VOLUME STUDIES
3. Peak Hour Volume (PHV)
the maximum number of vehicles that pas a
point on a highway during a period of 60
consecutive minutes.
4. Vehicle Classification (VC) with respect to
the type of vehicles for cars, two-axle trucks,
or three-axle trucks.
5. Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT)
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• Methods of Conducting Volume
Counts
– Manual Method
– Automatic Method
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Apollo Traffic Counter/Classifier

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Example of Counters that Require the Laying of Subsurface Detectors

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Traffic Eye Universal System

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Example of Station Locations for a Cordon Count

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• Types of Volume Counts
– Depending on the anticipated use of the data
to be collected.
• Intersection Counts
– vehicle classifications,
– through movements,
– turning movements.
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• Types of Volume Counts
– Pedestrian Volume Counts
– Periodic Volume Counts (AADT)
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• Traffic Volume Data
Presentation
– Traffic Flow Maps:
volume of traffic on
each route is
represented by the
width of a band.
Figure shows a typical
traffic flow map.

Example of a Traffic Flow Map

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Intersection Summary Sheets:

Figure shows a typical

intersection summary
sheet.

Intersection Summary Sheet

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• Traffic Volume Data Presentation
– Time-Based Distribution Charts:
see Figure
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Daily
variations:
see Figure

Traffic Volumes on an Urban Highway (A&B)

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Hourly
variations
in traffic
volume:

Traffic Volumes on an Urban Highway (C)

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Summary Tables:
PHV, Vehicle Classification (VC), and ADT.
See Table 4.4

Table 4.4 Summary of Traffic Volume Data for a Highway Section

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• Adjustment of Periodic Counts
• Expansion Factors from Continuous Count
Stations.
• Hourly expansion factors (HEFs) are
determined by the formula
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• Daily expansion factors (DEFs) are
computed as

• Monthly expansion factors (MEFs) are

computed as
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Hourly Expansion Factors for a Rural Primary Road
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Daily Expansion Factors for a Rural Primary Road
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Monthly Expansion Factors for a Rural Primary Road
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Traffic expansion factors
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• TRAVEL TIME AND DELAY
STUDIES
– Travel time: time required to travel from one
point to another on a given route.
– the locations, durations, and causes of delays.
– good indication of the level of service
– identifying problem locations,
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• Applications of Travel Time and Delay
Data
– efficiency of a route
– locations with relatively high delays
– causes for delays
– before-and-after studies
– relative efficiency of a route
– travel times on specific links
– economic studies
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• ITS Advanced Technologies:
– Advanced technologies
– Cell phones
– GPS satellite system
– technology is used to determine average
speeds and travel times along highways
 Types of Sampling Procedures
• Simple random sampling: Select units out of population
such that each population unit has an equal chance of being
drawn.
• Sequential sampling: Draw sample from every nth
element in the population
• Stratified random sampling: divides the population of N
units into sub-populations (N1, N2, …, NL) units,
according to differences in some defining characteristics.
Random samples are then taken within each strata.
• Cluster sampling: Grouping sampling units usually on a
spatial or geographic basis. Clusters are then selected at
random for sample
 Determining Sample Size
• Accuracy of estimates increases with the size of
the sample
• Degree of accuracy should be balanced against
the cost of survey sampling
• Determination of sample size involves two
major steps:
1. Make assumption about the population
distribution
2. Make decision about the acceptable limits of
error
 The Normal Distribution

• Normal Distribution is defined by:

1. The Mean: μ
2. The Standard deviation: σ
• Probability of occurrence is measured by the
surface area under curve.
 Confidence Level

• Level of confidence (1-α): reflects the percentage

of samples falling within the desired limit of error.