CHAPTER 1

TRAFFIC SYSTEM COMPONENTS

& FUNDAMENTAL THEORY OF
TRAFFIC FLOW
by
Dr Mohd Zul Hanif Mahmud
Traffic Room, D02, Highway Laboratory /
M46-331
[email protected]
Chapter Outline
CLO1
• Use appropriate technique to analyse the fundamental theories of
traffic flow

Outline
• Introduction to traffic system components
• Fundamental theory of traffic flow
• Speed, Flow, Density Relationships and their interpretations

2
INTRODUCTION

3
TRAFFIC SYSTEM COMPONENTS

Road traffic
system
Road users Road
network
Vehicles

It is important to study each of these elements for the

planning, design, and analysis of an efficient, safe road
traffic system.

4
 1) Road Users

Consist of: Characteristics and behaviour

of a
• drivers,
driver are influenced by
• passengers,
• motorcyclists, 3 factors:
• cyclists, a) Physical
• pillions, and b) Environment
• pedestrians. c) Psychology

5
 •Perception
a) Physical Factors •Identification
•Emotion
Two main factors considered are: •Volition

1. Perception–Reaction Time •Detection

•Identification
2. Cone of Vision •Decision
•Response

Influenced by factors:
Age, fatigue, complexity of a situation, drivers
physical characteristics, alcohol or drugs etc.
Average time: 0.5 – 3.0 seconds

Source: Roess, R.P, Prassas, E.S., McShane, W.R. Traffic Engineering, 3rd Edition.

6
Vision

The most important physical factor for road users.

1. Visual acuity – static and dynamic (Cone Vision)
2. Depth perception – estimate distance and speed
3. Peripheral vision – field of view beyond cone
vision
4. Glare and recovery – time needed to adjust to
light
5. Visual deterioration – age and distance

7
Generally a motorist’s lateral vision is excellent on
either side of the center line of the eye position
(cone of 10o)

Vision is still very good up to 10o on either side

(cone of 20o)

8
 b) Environmental Factors
These include:
• Weather & lighting
• Traffic volumes
• Road geometry
 c) Psychological Factors
• Motive of the journey
• Emotion

Source: New data on Older Drivers,

Centers for disease Control & Prevention (2011)
2) Vehicles

• Characteristics of vehicles on roads

vary in terms of shape, dimension,
performance, etc.

• Road must be designed to cater

almost all types of vehicles.
 3) Road Network
• Varies in terms of standards and geometry

• Categorised into 5 for administrative purposes:

1. Toll highway
2. Federal highway
3. State road
4. Urban road
5. Rural road

12
Fundamental theory of traffic flow

13
Common traffic parameters that are of traffic
engineers / planners interest include:
• Traffic Flow or Volume
• Speed
• Density or Concentration
• Headway

14
 (1) Traffic Flow or Volume (q)

Define as the number of

vehicles passing a specific
reference point on a road
section within a specified
period of time.

15
The count can be directional or all directions.
Typical units:
vehicles/hour (hourly traffic) (vph),
vehicles/day (daily traffic),
vehicles/year (annual traffic), etc.

16
Traffic flow data is usually collected to obtain factual
data concerning the movement of vehicles at selected
points on the street, example:

(a) Annual Traffic

(b) Average Daily Traffic (ADT) &
Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
(c) Hourly Traffic

17
 Traffic Flow or Volume
Average Daily
Traffic (ADT) &
Average Annual
Daily Traffic
Annual Traffic (AADT) Hourly Traffic

(i) To compute crash (i) To measure (i) To determine peak

rates present demand periods
(ii) To indicate trends (ii) To programme (ii) To evaluate
in volume capital capacity
improvement deficiencies
(iii) To establish
traffic controls
(iv) To determine
geometric design
parameters 18
(1) Month (2) Total Days in (3) Total Monthly (4) Average Daily
Month (days) Volume (vehs) Traffic-ADT (veh/day)
(3)/(2)
Jan 31 425,000 13,710
Feb 28 410,000 14,643
Mar 31 385,000 12,419
Apr 30 400,000 13,333
May 31 450,000 14,516
Jun 30 500,000 16,667
ADT = average 24 hour
Jul 31 580,000 traffic volume at a
Aug 31 570,000 given location for some
period of time less than
Sept 30 490,000 a year.
Oct 31 420,000
AADT = average 24
Nov 30 415,000 hour traffic volume at a
Dec 31 400,000 given location over a
full 365 days.
19
Total 365 5,445,000 -
Other method to measure AADT

AADT = Traffic volume for 7 days in March + Traffic volume for 7 days in September
14

20
Normally, the vehicular counting periods
are:
• 24 hours;
• 16 hours (normally 6.00 am to 10.00 pm);
• 12 hours (normally 7.00 am to 7.00 pm);
• Peak hours (typically 7.00 am to 9.00 am & 4.00
pm to 7.00 pm);
• Weekends

21
Example
• The data below is a traffic volume on a rural road
section for 10 working days. What are the
information can be obtained from this data?
Days Number of vehicles
1 10,000
2 9,800
3 10,500
4 10,030
5 9,950
6 11,000
7 9,700
8 9,900
9 10,010
10 10,400
22
• Rates of flow → “vehicles per hour”

• 200 vehicles observed over a 15-

minute period may be expressed as a
rate of 200 x 4 = 800 vehicles/hour

• 800 vehicles/hour becomes a rate of

flow that exists for a 15-minute
interval.

23
Traffic volume is one of the parameters that form the basis for traffic
engineering design and analysis. From data below, determine:
a) The average hourly volume;
b) Rate of flow for time interval;
c) Maximum hourly volume; and
d) 15-minute interval with the highest volume.
e) Why is rate of flow higher than maximum hourly volume?
Time interval Interval Volume (veh)
4:00 – 4:15 67
4:15 - 4:30 76
4:30 – 4:45 71
4:45 – 5:00 94
5:00 – 5:15 103
5:15 – 5:30 114
5:30 – 5:45 135
5:45 – 6:00 113
24
Exercise 2:
Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) is the average 24-hour traffic
volume at a given location over a full 365-day year.
Since a traffic engineer only has the volume distribution
characteristics as shown in Table below, determine AADT of the
road?
Day March (veh/day) September (veh/day)
Monday 12000 11500
Tuesday 11500 11750
Wednesday 13460 12000
Thursday 10000 12100
Friday 15200 13300
Saturday 9800 11450
Sunday 12500 10000

25
 Traffic composition:

Vehicular traffic consists of various types of vehicle – i.e. various sizes,

performances, and characteristics.
A vehicle is converted into an Equivalent Passenger Car unit (PCU or
UKP) for consistency in interpreting road traffic performance, congestion,
road geometry and traffic signal analysis and design.

26
 Typical PCU values for roadways

Types of vehicle Rural road Urban road

Cars 1.0 1.0
Utilities & small vans 2.0 2.0
Medium lorries & large 2.5 2.5
vans
Large lorries & heavy 3.0 3.0
vehs
Buses 3.0 3.0
Motorcycles 1.0 0.75
27
Example application of PCU values:

• Traffic volumes on a section of rural road during

morning peak hour is 500 veh/h and during the
evening peak hour is also 500 veh/h.

Can you comment on the traffic flow conditions for both

situations? (e.g. which peak hour traffic would you think is
the busiest or congested condition compare to the other?)

Answer:
It would be difficult for us to say which peak hour is representing the
congested situation as both traffic volumes are equal in terms of veh/h
Now,
If information of traffic compositions for both peak-hours
are available as follows:
For AM Peak: 50% cars, 20% medium lorries, 10% buses,
and 20% m/cycles.
For PM Peak: 30% cars, 25% medium lorries, 15% heavy
lorries, 15% buses, 15% m/cycles.

Can you describe the differences between the two peak

hour traffic in terms of traffic flow conditions?
Answer:
Let us express the peak hour traffic in terms of pcu/h, i.e.

AM Peak: (0.5x1+0.2x2.5+0.1x3.0+0.2x1) x 500 = 1.5 x 500

= 750 pcu/h
PM Peak: (0.3x1 + 0.25x2.5 + 0.15x3.0 + 0.15x3.0 + 0.15x1)
x 500 = 1.975x500 = 988 pcu/h
This shows that the evening peak hour traffic is busiest
compare to the morning traffic.
Exercise 1:
• Express 500 veh/h in terms of pcu/h if the
composition of traffic is 40% cars, 20%
medium lorries, 10% heavy lorries, 5% buses
and 25% motorcycles.

• Assume
• 1 medium lorry = 2 pcu
• 1 heavy lorry and bus = 2.5 pcu
• 1 motorcycle = 0.75
Methods for conducting vehicular
counts are:

•Manual counting: tally sheets

•Detector/sensor counting: Pneumatic Road Tube
•Moving car observer method
•Video recording
Example Manual Intersection Volume
Count Tally Sheet
33
 Mechanical counting board
Pneumatic Road Tube and Recorder

Electronic counting board

 (2) Speed (u)
Speed is defined as the distance travelled per unit time. The
parameter is usually used to describe the quality of journey and
the performance of road network in accommodating traffic
demand.

Types of speed:
» spot speed,
» journey speed,
» running speed,
» time mean speed, and
» space mean speed.
(a) Spot Speed
This speed is the instantaneous speed of a
vehicle passing a point on the roadway. If the
data for a group of vehicles is collected
properly, results from the sample should
represent the speed characteristics of the
entire population of vehicles passing the site.
 Definition of spot speed (cont’d)

Time taken from A to B = t

A Distance = S B
S
speed =
t
Speed = Distance/Time, i.e.

If S  100 meters, then the speed measured is known as Spot Speed.

 Typical use of Spot Speed data:
• To establish speed trends
• Traffic control planning
- establish speed limits
- determine safe speeds at curves
- establish proper location for traffic signs
- establish lengths of no–passing zones
- evaluate intersection sight distance
• Before–and–after studies
• Accident analysis
• Geometric design – i.e. road alignments and stopping sight
distance
Methods for conducting spot speed
studies:

• Enoscope
• Video recording
• Radar gun
(b) Journey speed & Running Speed

Journey speed is the distance divided by total journey time. Total

journey time includes all delays due to traffic. Mathematically,

Journey speed = distance/total journey time

Running speed is the distance divided by running time, i.e. total

journey time minus delays. (Running time is the time that the vehicle is
actually in motion.)

Running speed = distance/(total journey time – delays)

Both speeds are usually as a result of travel time and delay study –
used to evaluate road performance.
Example:
Evaluate journey & running speeds for the following situation &
interpret the result.

A B
J1 J2 J3 J4 J5

8 km

Average Total travel time including delay due to traffic = 32 minutes

Average Delays at each junction: J1 = 5 min, J2 = 5 min, J3 = 3 min, J4 = 4 min, & J5 = 6 min.

Answer:
Average Journey Speed = 8km x (1 h x 60 min) /32 min = 15 km/h.
Average Running Speed = 8km x (1 h x 60 min)/(32 – 23)min = 53.3 km/h.
Interpretation:
Since Journey speed  running speed → drivers experience heavy traffic flow &
inefficient traffic control system at junctions. System requires improvements.
In order to get the data for journey & running
speed, journey time & delay studies need to be
conducted.

Methods for conducting journey speed and delay

studies are:

•Moving observer method

•License plate method
 Conducting journey speed:

(a) Moving observer method

 The observer makes a round trip on a test

section
 Assume the study is focused on a stream of
vehicles moving in the east direction
x y

East

West

x y
Length of road section, L
 From x-x towards east:
Cont…. (a) Moving observer method
 No. of vehs that overtook test veh. (Y1east)
 No. of vehs overtaken by test veh (Y2east)
 Travel time (Tw)

 From y-y towards west:

 No. of vehs travelling in opposite direction (Xeast)
 Travel time (TA)
x y

East

West

x y
Volume in east direction
 Qeast = (Xeast + Y1east – Y2east)/(TA + TW)

Average travel time

 Teast = TW – ((Y1east – Y2east)/ Qeast)

Average journey speed

 Veast = L/ Teast  From x-x towards east:
 No. of vehs that overtook test veh. (Y1east)
 No. of vehs overtaken by test veh (Y2east)
x y  Travel time (Tw)

East  From y-y towards west:

 No. of vehs travelling in opposite direction (Xeast)
West  Travel time (TA)

x L y
Exercise:
While taking measurement by moving-observer method, a test vehicle covered
a 1 km section in 1.5 minutes going against traffic and 2.5 minutes going with
traffic. Given the traffic flow was 800 vph and that test vehicle passed 10 more
vehicles than passed it when going with traffic, find:
a) The number of vehicle encountered by the test vehicle while moving against
traffic
b) The speed of the traffic being measured

Answer:
a) 63.3 veh
b) V =18.46 km/h