Transportation engineering

Traffic studies – generally involve time and may entail much cost.

Traffic volume – most basic data needed for any traffic study.

Volume studies – conducted to obtain factual information on the number of vehicles and/or persons that
pass at a specified point on the highway system.

Annual traffic – used for determining annual travel, estimating expected highway user revenue,
computing accident rates.

Annual average daily traffic (AADT) – used for measuring the present demand for service by road,
programming capital improvements.

Hourly traffic – used for evaluating capacity deficiencies, geometric design or improvement of streets
and intersections.

Short term count – used to estimate maximum flow rate and determine the characteristics of peak hour
volume.

Mid-block counts – used for preparing traffic flow maps and determining trends.

Directional counts – used for determining directional distribution for capacity analysis, signal timing,
justifying traffic control.

Turning movement or intersection counts – used for signal timing, designing or improving geometry of
intersection, planning turning prohibition, analyzing high accident intersections.

Classification counts - used for determining modal split, estimating effects of heavy vehicles on capacity,
determining correction factors for automatic counts.

Cordon counts – used to determine the number of vehicles and/or persons entering and leaving an
enclosed area.

Screen line counts – classified counts taken at some points along a line that bisects a given area.

By tallying – simplest and sometimes most practical in the absence of any mechanical or automatic
counting device
-Used when traffic volume is generally low or when observing a particular turning movement
whose volume is relatively low.

Tally sheets – used to record the number of vehicles.

Manual counter – mechanical device useful when volume is high and may be of a single or multiple
type.

Automatic counter – used when traffic count of very long duration is required.
- used to do the count continuously.
Pneumatic tube – simplest type of automatic counter laid transversely across the road.

Video cameras – used to take footage of the traffic flow.

AADT – has been a common measure of daily traffic at a given location.

Average Daily Traffic (ADT) – obtained by conducting traffic volume counts over a number of days at
least 2 days and less than 365 days.

Radar speed meter – very convenient way of conducting spot speed studies.
- positioned at the edge of the roadway at an angle of about 15 degrees with the
centerline and is directed toward the incoming vehicles.
- may be difficult to use when volume of traffic is high.
- Often used by police authorities for apprehending over speeding drivers.

Trap length method – very useful and less expensive way of conducting spot speed studies.
- in this method, two lines, 30-50 m apart, are drawn transversely on the pavement.

Stopwatch – used to measure the travel time of the vehicle within the trap.

Length of the trap – divided by the travel time to estimate the speed.

Standard deviation – the square root of the variance

Travel time studies -normally give information on the performance of a particular roadway.

Test car technique – method makes use of a vehicle that is driven over the road section under study.

License plate method – conducted when details on delay are not important.
- consist of observing and recording license plates of vehicles and time of arrivals
at two points or more on the road where the vehicles are expected to pass.

Moving observer method – one of the most common survey methods for obtaining information on
traffic volume, speed, and density of a given section of road.
- developed by the transport road research laboratory in the UK, the method
consist of one or two test cars travelling back and forth within the section.

CHAPTER 5

Intersections – play an important role in any network system.

- are the points where traffic flow converges and where direction of travel changes.
- may be categorized according to shape, type of structure, and type of operation.

Shape – refers to the configuration of the intersection and would depend largely on the number of legs.

Rules and regulations – applied to a given intersection depend largely on the type of control which is in
operation at that intersection.

Simplify traffic flow – achieve by reducing the number of conflicts of vehicles.

Intersection – operates as unchannelized or channelized, and unsignalized or signalized.

Channelization – often leads to simplified movements of vehicles as it leads drivers to one conflict a a
time.

Signalization – greatly reduces crossing conflicts at the intersection area.

Sharp turns – such as left and right turns, cause unnecessary reduction in traffic speed.

Oblique intersections – pose potential hazards and cause high severity of accidents due to the almost
head-to head collision of vehicles.

Conflicts – often occurs at intersections.

- may be classified as merging, diverging, or crossing conflicts.

Crossing conflicts – cause most of the problem at intersections, like congestion and accidents.

Right of way rule – states that when two vehicles arrive at the same time at the intersection, the vehicle
on the right has the priority.

Yield sign – is to establish or strengthen legal superiority of one traffic flow over another where most
traffic on all legs is able to proceed through without a full stop.

Stop sign – two-way or four-way stop control may be implemented.

Wright – simulation study of four-way stop control.

Roundabout or rotary – works best when the number of turning vehicles is almost equal to the number
of through vehicles.
- all the vehicles move counterclockwise.

Movement – characterized by merging at very small angles, weaving, and diverging when leaving the
intersection.

U-turn slots- very similar to that of a roundabout except that it favors a particular road, which is assumed
to be the major road.

Section 5.7 – provides an introduction to traffic signal control.

Grade separation – eliminates the problematic crossing conflicts of the different movements of vehicles.

Critical gap –used to describe the minimum gaps needed by drivers of minor road vehicles.

Basic capacity – is the maximum minor road flow.

Turning lane – is provided for the exclusive use of the minor road traffic stream

P-value – defines the probability that this minor road traffic stream remains unaffected.

Shared lanes – lanes in which two or more movements are confined in the same lane.
Reserve capacity – the difference between the existing flow an capacity

Design of roundabout – usually done by trial and error.

Isolated – intersection if arrivals of vehicles at its approach are random

Pre-time or fixed time signals – works best when there is not much fluctuation in traffic flow.

MUTCD – Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways

Pre-time controllers – ae not dependent for proper operation on the movement of approaching vehicles
past detectors.

Right of way – is given to the minor road only when demands is detected.

SCATS – Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System

- dynamic control system is installed in metro cebu an some parts of metro manila
- has helped incalcculate discipline among drivers, commuters, and pedestrian.

SCATS AND SCOOT (Split Cycle Optimization Techniques) –are considered as third-generation
system, in which the signal timings are free to evolve in response to detected traffic volumes and queues.

Traffic volume – must include all types of vehicles

Pedestrian flows- movement of pedestrians in all directions

Passenger car unit values (PCU) – PCU equivalent of the different types of vehicles.

Saturation flow rates – maximum flow rate occurring at the stop line once traffic initially in queue is
given green time indication

Physical characteristics of road - number of legs; width approaches; number of lanes; gradient.

Saturation flow rate – the maximum flow rate that corresponds to minimum headway

Phasing – process by which right of way is given to particular movements in a logical manner with the
primary purpose of minimizing the number of conflicts.

Lost time – compose of the starting loss and the all-red period.

Cycle - one complete indication of green, yellow, and red.

- its length is constant for a pre-time of fixed time signals.

Webster’s formula- widely used to estimate this cycle length.

Y-value – gives the indication whether to continue with the computation or not

X, the degree of congestion – often used as the measure of the performance of the intersection

Akcelik – used his unsignalized capacity manual for the design .

Simultaneous system – all signals display the same color indications; this is commonly ised when
intersections are closely spaced, such as those along Espana.

Alternating system – this system normally works well when the intersections are far apart.

Progressive sytem – this method works well for one-way systems or when one direction of flow is given
more priority over the other.

Institute of Traffic Engineers’ Traffice Engineering Handbook – has graphical method of coordinating
two-way systems when balance of traffic flow in both directions is desired.

Offsets – the difference in the start of green of two signalized intersections.