Chapter I Traffic Engineering

• “Traffic Engineering is a branch of engineering

which deals with planning, geometric design
and traffic operations of streets and highways,
their networks, terminals, abutting lands,
relationship with other modes of
transportation for the achievement of safe,
efficient and convenient movement of persons
and goods”.

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• It is relatively new branch of civil engineering.
• It became necessary with the increase in traffic
(number of vehicles).
• Traffic congestion, parking problem, environmental
degradation, traffic accidents, has created the
attention to the performance characteristics of
highway transportation and continuous study and
developments for better geometric design,
capacity, intersections, traffic regulations, signals,
signs, roadway marking, terminals, street lighting
etc.
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Concerned Authorities in Nepal:
• Ministry of Works and Physical planning -
Department of Roads - Traffic safety Unit
• Ministry of Labour and Transport Management-
Department of Transport Management
• Home Ministry-Traffic Police
• Municipalities, DDC, VDC are also responsible to
maintenance the roads under their authority.

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Objective of the Traffic Engineering
• The basic objective of the Traffic Engineering is
to achieve efficient, free, and rapid flow of
traffic with minimum number of traffic
accidents.

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Scope of the Traffic Engineering:
1. Study of road user characteristics: Vehicular,
Passenger, driver
2. Traffic study and analysis:
• Speed,
• Volume,
• Origin and destination,
• Traffic capacity,
• Accident etc.

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3. Traffic operation: legislation and enforcement
measures for regulating drivers, vehicle and
users; traffic control devices (signs, signals,
marking) etc.
4. Geometric design: intersections, parking
facilities, terminals etc.
5. Traffic and transport planning
6. Traffic administration and management:
7. Research
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 Vehicle, Road, Driver and Environment system
E

D-V
D
D-R

V R

V-R

Figure: Vehicle, Road, Driver and Environment System

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• This system consists of interrelated components,
DRV which are functioning in surrounding
environment.
• VR- Technical subsystem
• DV, DR-Human- technical subsystem
• Term Environment includes weather, climate, and
roadside environments.
• It has been simplified the main three elements of
highway mode as:
• Human element, the vehicle and the Environment
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 Road-User Characteristics
• (Pedestrians, Cyclist, Cart/rickshaw driver,
Vehicle Drivers)
 The various factors which affect road user
characteristics classified as:
a) Physical
b) Mental
c) Psychological
d) Environmental
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a) Physical Characteristics
• Physical characteristics may be:
– Permanent: vision, hearing, strength and reaction
to traffic situation
– Temporary: fatigue, illness, effect of drugs etc.

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• Vision:
It is the most important means of acquiring accurate
information from the surroundings. About 90 % of
information is perceived in visual. Human eye is the
sensory organ to see and evaluate the size, shape and
colour of an object and estimate the distance and
speed of the bodies.
• Hearing:
it is important for pedestrians and cyclists. Relatively,
defective hearing is not very serious handicap in the
case of road users.
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• Strength:
it is most important for heavy vehicle drivers.

• Alcoholic drink:
It can be measured by the Blood Alcohol
Concentration (BAC).
Standard for different countries vary: for
example, 10mg/100ml (mg of alcohol in ml of
blood) is allowable in England.

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• Effect of drug:
Drugs other than alcohol that may affect driver
performance.
• Fatigue:
Tired drivers usually suffer from lack of
concentration and have long perception-reaction
time and are more likely to commit an error of
judgment on the roadway.
• Illness: illness may cause physical inability to
drive, mental tension and lack of concentration.
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b) Mental characteristics
• Knowledge, intelligence, skill, experience and
literacy can affect the road-user
characteristics.
• Knowledge of the vehicle characteristics,
traffic behavior, driving practice, rules of road,
psychology of other road users are helpful for
safe driving.

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c). Psychological characteristics
• Emotional factors such as attentiveness, fear,
anger, impatience, distraction and worries,
came under this characteristics. Due to these,
road user does not pay attention to traffic
regulation and do not have right attitude to
the other traffic.

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d). Environmental factors
• Behavior of the road users are affected by
various environmental conditions as traffic
characteristics, traffic flow condition,
atmospheric condition, locality of driving and
facilities to the traffic etc.

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 Characteristics of vehicles
• Vehicular characteristics are important for
highway design and traffic performance.
– Static Characteristics:
– Vehicle Kinematics:
– Dynamic characteristics:

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• Static characteristics:
– Height of the vehicle:
– Height of the driver seat:
– Height of the headlight:
– Clearance below Chassis:
– Length of vehicle:
– Width of vehicle:
– Length of wheelbase:
– Gross weight:
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• Height of vehicle affects the clearance needed under structure.
• The height of driver’s seat affects the visible distance.
• Headlight height affects sight distance at valley curve for night
driving.
• Clearance below chassis will limit driveway vertical profile, humps
and dips.
• Vehicle width affects the minimum width of traffic lane, shoulder
and parking facilities.
• Length of vehicle affects the capacity, maneuverability and the
overtaking distances.
• Minimum turning angles will affect the design of sharp curves for
maneuver at low speeds.
• The weight of loaded vehicle will affect the structural design of
pavements and cross drainage structures.
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Maximum Vehicle Dimensions as per IRC:
• All vehicles width: 2.5m.
• Height: Single deck: 3.80m
Double deck: 4.75m.
• Length: Single unit two axle: 11.00
Single unit bus: 12.00m.
 
• Weight of loaded vehicle
Single unit truck (both axle single tire): maximum gross
weight = 12 tonnes
Single unit truck (Rear axle dual tire) = 16 tonnes
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• Vehicle kinematics
• The fundamental relationship between force and
acceleration is given by relation:
F  ma

For the uniform acceleration

speed-acceleration function:
dv
a
dt
or, dv adt
v
 dv at
v0

v v0  at

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or, v v0at..........
....................
..........
Traffic Engineering
........(1
) 21
• For distance-time function
dx
 v  dx  (v0  at )dt
dt
x  v0 t  1 2 at 2 .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ........( 2)

• For distance-speed function;

2 2
v  v0
x ............................................(3)
2a

• Where, a = acceleration; v = speed; v0 = initial

speed; x = distance; t = time
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• Dynamic Characteristics:
Dynamic characteristics of vehicle affecting road
design are speed, acceleration, and braking
characteristics.
Speed of the vehicle affects sight distance, super
elevation, length of transition curve, limiting
radius on horizontal curve, length of transition
curve on vertical valley curves and on humps,
width of pavement, capacity of traffic lane, and
design and control measures on intersection.

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 Power of the vehicle: power of the heaviest
vehicle and its gross weight governs the
permissible and limiting values of gradient on
roads.

Braking Characteristics: The deceleration and

braking characteristics of vehicle depend on
the design and type of braking system
(mechanical, fluid or air brake) and its
efficiency.
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• Braking test: At least two of the following
three measurements are needed during the
braking test in order to determine the skid
resistance of the pavement:
– Braking distance, L, m
– Initial speed, u m/sec
– Actual duration of brake application, t sec

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• Example 1.
In a braking test, a vehicle travelling at a speed of
30kmph was stopped by applying brakes fully and
the skid marks were 5.8m in length. Determine
the average skid resistance of the pavement.

• Example 2.
A vehicle was stopped in 1.4 second by fully
jamming the brakes and the skid marks measured
7m. Determine the average skid resistance.

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 Traffic operation and regulation
• In order to have safe traffic operation on
roads, it is necessary to impose adequate
traffic regulations and traffic control devices.

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Traffic regulations
• The traffic regulations should cover all aspects of
control of vehicles, drivers and all other road users.

• Traffic regulations and laws cover the following

four phases
– Driver control
– Vehicle control
– Flow regulations
– General controls

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• Driver control
-driving license for light and heavy motor vehicles
-Driver tests
-Minimum requirements (age, heart diseases,
colour blindness, night blindness etc.)

• Vehicle control
– vehicle registration (number plate)
– Requirements of vehicle (equipment and accessories,
max. dimension, weight, load, regular maintenance,
check-ups, insurance etc.)
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• Flow regulations
-Regulation of traffic flow, direction, turning and
overtaking etc.
-speed limit, pedestrian control, regulatory signs,
prohibitory signs etc.
 
• General controls
-Some other general regulations are made to report
accidents and recording traffic violation cases.
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• Traffic control devices
The various aids and devices used to control,
regulate and guide traffic may be called traffic
control devices.
The general requirements of traffic control
devices are ; attention, meaning, time for
response and respect of road users.

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• Most common traffic control devices:
– Traffic signs
– Traffic signals
– Markings
– Traffic Island
– Road lights
 

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 Traffic Signs
• The three main functions of traffic signs are to
regulate, warn and inform. There is a different
group of signs for each function, and the signs in
each group have a uniform shape to help drivers
recognize them quickly.

• The three groups are:

1.Regulatory Signs
2.Warning Signs:
3.Information Signs
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1. Regulatory Signs
• These signs give orders.
• They tell drivers what they must not do
(prohibitory), or what they must do (mandatory).
• Most of them take the form of a circular disc,
although two signs, the Stop sign and the Give
Way sign, have distinctive individual shapes.
• Department of Road: traffic sign manual
schedule of Regulatory signs (A1- A33) thirty
three types of signs

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• 2. Warning signs
• These warn drivers of some danger or difficulty on the
road ahead. Most of them take the form of an equilateral
triangle with its apex uppermost.
• Most warning signs are triangular in shape with a red
border encompassing a black symbol on a white
background. The black symbol is normally a diagram of
the hazard.
• Sometimes additional information is put onto a
supplementary plate below the main sign.
• The Traffic Sign manual describes about 48 warning signs
(B 01 – B 48).
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3. Information Signs
• Most of these signs give drivers information
to enable them to find their way to their
destination. It is a varied group of signs, but
they are all either square or rectangular in
shape.

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• These are grouped as follows:
– Direction and place identification signs
– Facility information signs
– Other useful information signs (No through road,
No through side road)
– Parking signs
– Flood gauge

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 Traffic signals
• The main requirements of traffic signals are to
draw attention, provide meaning and time to
response and to have minimum waste of time.

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Advantages
1. They provide orderly movement of traffic
2. They reduce certain types of accidents
3. Pedestrians can cross the roads safely
4. The signals allow crossing of the heavy traffic flow with
safely
5. When the signal system is properly co-ordinate, there is a
reasonable speed along the major road.
6. Automatic traffic signals may workout to be economical than
manual control
7. Control traffic at rail crossing and other hazardous situations.
8. Provided all the vehicles move at approximately the same
speed
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Disadvantages
1. Failure of the signal due to electric power
failure may cause confusion to the road users
2. Improper design and location of signals may
lead to violations of the control system
3. The rear-end collisions may increase

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Type of traffic signals
1. Traffic control signals
fixed time signals
Manually operated signals
traffic actuated (automatic) signal -According to
traffic demand
2. Pedestrian signal
3. Special traffic signals
Flashing amber
lane direction signals
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 Road marking
• Road marking or traffic marking are made of
lines, patterns, words, symbols or reflectors on
the pavement, kerb, sides of island or on the
fixed objects within or near the road.

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• Types of marking
– Pavement marking
– Kerb marking
– Object marking
– Reflector unit marking

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• Common types of pavement marking
1. Centre line: to separate the opposing stream
2. Lane lines: to designate traffic lane
3. No passing zone marking: to indicate that overtaking is not
permitted
4. Turn marking: Used near intersections to designate proper
lateral placement of vehicle before turning to different
directions
5. Stop line: to indicate where vehicles are required to stop
6. Cross walk lines: Places where pedestrians are to cross the road
7. Parking space limit
8. Cyclist crossing
9. Bus stops: (BUS)
10. Approach to obstructions
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• Kerb marking
• The marking on the kerb and edges of island
with alternate black and white lines increases
the visibility from a long distance

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• Object marking
• Physical obstructions are like bridge element,
signals, traffic islands, culvert head wall etc.
are marked with stripped at 450

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• Reflectors; used as guide marking for safe
driving during night

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 Traffic Islands
• Traffic islands are raised areas constructed
within the roadway to established physical
channels through which the vehicular traffic
may be guided.

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• Functions
-to separate the pedestrians and the vehicles
-to guide traffic into specific route
-to reduce conflict area to minimize accidents

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Types
1. Divisional islands
-to separate opposite flow of traffic on
highway with four or more lane
-to eliminate head on collision
-the height of divisional island should enough
to prevent vehicles entering into the island.

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2. Channelizing islands
-used to guide the traffic into proper channel
through the intersection area

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3. Pedestrian loading islands
-provided at regular bus stops and similar
places

4. Rotary/ Roundabouts islands

-It is large control island of a rotary
intersection which is much greater than others

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