Traffic Volume Count

What is Traffic Volume Count ?

Traffic Data Collection is basic
requirements for transport planning.
Traffic Data forms an integral part of
national economics and such knowledge is
essential in drawing up a rational transport
policy for movement of passengers and
goods by both government and the private
sectors. Traffic Volume Count is counting
of number of vehicles passing through a
road over a period of time.
What is Traffic Volume Count ?
It is usually expressed in terms of
Passenger Car Unit (PCU) and measured to
calculate Level of Service of the road and
related attributes like congestion, carrying
capacity, V/C Ratio, identification of peak
hour or extended peak hour etc.  Traffic
volume count or TVC is usually done as a
part of transportation surveys, TVC can be
classified or unclassified.
Need of Traffic Volume Count Survey
Traffic Volume Survey is an essential part of Town
Planning, especially for a town planner. It includes
counting the number of vehicles passing through a
survey station. The study of Classified Traffic Volume
Count is to understand factors that form the basis of:
a) Checking the efficiency/saturation of the road network by
comparing current traffic volume with the calculated
capacity or by identifying level of service

b) Establishing the use of the road network by vehicles of

different categories, traffic distribution, PCU/vehicle value

c) Need of median shifting or road widening

Purpose of Traffic Volume Count
The purpose  classified traffic volume count is to draw
inferences on the basis of data collected. To provide
possible solutions and improvement suggestion for the
problem identified. The objectives covered in it
includes  identifying the hourly distribution of vehicles
and peak hour, identify level of service and compare
modal composition on different hierarchy of roads.
Methods of doing Traffic Volume Count
Traffic Volume Count can be done by various
methods depending upon various factors like
manpower available, budget,
technology/instrument available, magnitude of
traffic data required or to be collected which
will then determine quality and type of vehicle
classification to be adopted.
Methods of doing Traffic Volume Count
Traffic data collection forms the integral part of traffic
volume study as it provides the raw data and includes
primary survey. The various types and methods used to
collect traffic data not only provide a good and
valuable coverage of the required traffic information.
Different methods of traffic volume count are:
Methods of doing Traffic Volume Count
1. Automatic Count
This method is employed in cases where manual count
method is not feasible. Various instruments are
available for automatic count, which have their own
merits and demerits. Some of the widely used
instruments are pneumatic tubes, inductive loops,
weigh-in-motion Sensor, micro-millimeter wave Radar
detectors and video camera.
Methods of doing Traffic Volume Count
Both types of count can be classified or unclassified.
Classified traffic volume count gives a better
understanding of the types of vehicles which uses the
road and can be used for number of other purposes
apart from the transportation surveys. It can also be
used for calculating the modal split of vehicles on the
road.

Unclassified traffic volume count is done where

sufficient manpower is not available or the budget for
the survey is low. This type of volume count does not
give a good information about the road.
Methods of doing Traffic Volume Count
Some of the widely used instruments are –
i) Pneumatic tubes – These are tubes placed on the top of
road surfaces at locations where traffic counting is required.
As vehicles pass over the tube, the resulting compression
sends a burst of air to an air switch.
Methods of doing Traffic Volume Count
ii. ) Inductive loops – Inductive loop detector consists of
embedded turned wire. It includes an oscillator, and a cable,
which allows signals to pass from the loop to the traffic counting
device.  Inductive loops are cheap, almost maintenance-free and
are currently the most widely used equipment for vehicle
counting and detection
Methods of doing Traffic Volume Count
iii) Weigh-in-Motion Sensor types – A
variety of traffic sensors and loops are used
to count, weigh and classify vehicles while in
motion, and these are collectively known as
Weigh In Motion (WIM) sensor systems.
Some notable traffic sensors are:
a. Bending Plates which contains strain
gauges that weigh the axles of passing
vehicles

b. Capacitive Strip is a thin and long

extruded metal used to detect passing axles.
Capacitive strips can be used for both
statistical data and axle configuration.
Methods of doing Traffic Volume Count
c. Capacitive Mat functions in a
similar manner as the capacitive
strip but it is designed to be
mobile and used on a temporary
basis only.
d. Piezo-electric Cable is a sensing
strip of a metallic cable that
responds to vertical loading from
vehicle wheels passing over it by
producing a corresponding
voltage. The cable is very good for
speed measurement and axle-
space registration, and is
relatively cheap and maintenance
Methods of doing Traffic Volume Count
Micro-millimeter wave Radar detectors
– Radar detectors actively emits
radioactive signals at frequencies
ranging from the ultra-high frequencies
(UHF) of 100 MHz, to 100 GHz, and can
register vehicular presence and speed
and can be used determine vehicular
volumes and classifications in both
traffic directions.

Video Camera – Video image processing

system utilize machine vision technology
to detect vehicles and capture details
about individual vehicles when
necessary. The system is useful for traffic
counting and give a +/- 3% tolerance,
and is not appropriate for vehicular
speed and their classification.
Methods of doing Traffic Volume Count
II. Manual Count
The most common method of collecting traffic volume data is
the manual method of traffic volume count,  which involves a
group of people recording number of vehicles passing, on a pre-
determined location, using tally marks in inventories. Raw data
from those inventories is then organized for compilation and
analysis. This method of data collection can be expensive in
terms of manpower, but it is nonetheless necessary in most
cases where vehicles are to be classified with a number of
movements recorded separately, such as at intersections also in
case where automatic methods cannot be used due to lack of
infrastructure, necessary authorization etc.
Methods of doing Traffic Volume Count
Traffic Volume Survey can be done manually or by use
of automatic methods depending upon various factors
like manpower available, budget,
technology/instrument available, magnitude of traffic
data required
Duration and Interval of Traffic Counts
In order to predict traffic flow volumes that can be
expected on the road network during specific periods,
knowledge of the fact is required that traffic volumes
changes considerably at each point in time. There are
three important cyclical variations:
Hourly pattern: the way traffic flow characteristic
varies throughout the day and night;
Daily Pattern: The day-to-day variation throughout the
week
Monthly and yearly Pattern: The season-to-season
variation throughout the year.
Duration and Interval of Traffic Counts
When analysing the traffic one must also be aware of the directional
distribution of traffic and the manner in which its composition varies
as it is important to deal with tidal flow.
Hourly patterns – Typical hourly patterns of traffic flow, particularly in
urban areas, generally show a number of distinguishable peaks. Peak
in the morning followed by a lean flow until another peak in the
middle of the afternoon, after which there may be a new peak in the
late evening. The peak in the morning is often more sharp by reaching
the peak over a short duration and immediately dropping to its lowest
point. The afternoon peak on the other hand is characterised by a
generally wider peak. The peak is reached and dispersed over a longer
period than the morning peak.
Daily patterns – The traffic volume generally varies throughout the
week. The traffic during the working days (Monday to Friday) may not
vary substantially, but the traffic volume during the weekend is likely
to differ from the working days on different type of roads and in
different directions
Factors to be considered while doing a traffic
volume survey on mid block –
1. Surveyor should not affect the flow of traffic.
2. Survey station should be located at position where
queuing do not take place.
3. Vehicles should be classified if possible as it saves
time for Classified Traffic Volume Survey. Also classified
results have many other application.
4. Safety of surveyor should be kept in mind and safe
location should be selected. This becomes more
important in rural area where carriageway is not well-
defined.
5. Equipments used while automatic count should be
placed such that they do not draw attention of driver.