TRAFFIC ENGINEERING

Introduction
• Branch of engineering which deals with the
improvement of traffic performance of road
networks and terminals

• Application of scientific principles, tools and

techniques for safe, rapid, convenient and
economic movement of people and goods
• Road traffic composed of Vehicular traffic and Pedestrian traffic

• Vehicular traffic has two components -

Human element - Driver
Machine element - Vehicles

Definition
Phase of engineering deals with planning & geometric
design of streets, highways, abutting lands, and with traffic
operations there on, and their use is related to the safe,
convenient and economic transportation of the persons
and goods. (Institute of traffic Engineers, USA)
Scope of Traffic Engineering
To achieve efficient, free and rapid flow of traffic, with least
number of traffic accidents

The study includes

• Traffic characteristics
• Traffic Studies & analysis
• Traffic Operations control and regulation
• Planning & analysis
• Geometric design
• Administration & Management
• Study of traffic characteristics - Most essential
prerequisite for any improvement of traffic facilities

• Traffic studies carried out on volume, speed, capacity,

travel patterns, origin and destination, traffic flow,
parking and accident studies

• Traffic operations are regulations, control and warrants

for application of controls. It includes the use of traffic
control devices like sign boards, signals etc.
• Traffic planning phase for express-ways, arterials,
mass transit facilities and parking facilities

• Suitable design of geometric parameters like cross

section, sight distance, vertical & horizontal
alignment, intersections etc.

• Administration & Management

 Traffic characteristics

 Road user characteristics

• Human element- Pedestrian, Cyclist, Motorist
• Physical, Mental & Emotional characteristics

• Factors effects road user characteristics are

 Physical
 Mental
 Psychological
 Environmental
• Aspects of human behaviour on traffic classified into
 Physiological
 Psychological

Physiological factors
• Vision
• Hearing
Vision
• Road safety
• Size, Shape, Colour, Distance, Speed etc. of objects
• Traffic lights, Traffic signs, Vehicles on road, Safe gap, Safe
crossing
• Cross, Stop, Overtake, Accelerate/ Deccelerate
Field of clearest and acute vision (visual acuity)
• Concentrated in the zone formed by a cone whose
angle is 3° about centre of retina
• Satisfactory vision
– Angle of cone 10-12° (Horizontal)
– 2/3rd of horizontal (Vertical)
– Locating traffic signs and signals
• Peripheral vision
– Total visual field for the two eyes
– Able to see the objects without clear details and colour
– Any movement or bright light can alert a driver
– 160° in the horizontal field
– 115° in vertical direction
• Cone of peripheral vision depends upon speed
– Angle of cone falls from 110° at 30 Kph speed to about 40° at
100 Kph speed

• Colour vision
– Discerning traffic lights and colour schemes in traffic signs

• Colour Blindness- No major disability

• Ability to adapt to glare due to headlights or variations in
lighting condition
– Depends on age of driver & quickness to adapt
– Glare recovery time varies from 3 to 6 secs

• Depth and distance of object stereoscopically and its speed

Hearing
• Sound of horn of nearing vehicle can alert pedestrian to
safety
• Elderly persons with falling eyesight can perceive better
through hearing
• Strength & Reaction to traffic situation
Psychological factors
- PIEV theory
Perception – Perceiving the sensations received through eyes, ears,
nervous system etc.
Intellection – Identification of stimuli by development of new
thoughts and ideas
Emotion – Personal trait of individual governing decision making
process
Volition – Will to react to a situation
Physical characteristics
 Can be permanent or temporary
 Temporary includes fatigue, alcohol or drugs and illness
 Reduce alertness & increase reaction time
Mental characteristics
 Knowledge, skill, intelligence, experience and literacy
Psychological characteristics
 Emotional factors such as inattentiveness, fear, anger,
superstition, impatience
 General attitude towards traffic, regulations and maturity
Environmental characteristics
 Traffic stream, Atmospheric conditions and locality,
purpose of trip, time plan, route comfort and safety
 Vehicular characteristics
• Cater for the needs of existing and anticipated traffic
• Uniformity in design
Static characteristics:
- Dimensions of vehicle
- Weight
- Maximum turning angle
- Height of vehicle, Height of driver seat, Head light, Field of
vision ahead for the driver, Length of vehicle, Gross weight
Dynamic characteristics:
- Speed
- Acceleration
- Braking Characteristics
Vehicle Dimensions
• Includes the overall width, height and length of
vehicle
– Width affects the lane width, shoulders, parking
facilities
– Height affects the clearance to be provided
– Length affects safe overtaking distance, capacity,
horizontal alignment, minimum turning radius

Weight of vehicle
• Maximum weight of loaded vehicles affects the
design of pavement thickness and gradients
Speed of vehicle
It affects- Sight distances, Super elevation, Length of transition
curves, Pavement width, Shoulders, Design gradients,
Capacity

Power of vehicle
– Power of heaviest vehicles and their loaded weights
govern the permissible and limiting values of gradient on
roads
– From the total hauling capacity and power required to
overcome tractive resistance, helps to determine speed
and acceleration useful for traffic regulation, planning and
design
Resistance to motion of a vehicle
• Rolling resistance

• Air resistance

• Grade resistance

• Inertia forces during acceleration and

deceleration

• Transmission losses
 Traffic Studies

• Surveys carried out to analyse traffic

characteristics

• Helps in deciding the geometric design feature

and traffic control

• Traffic surveys for collecting traffic data are so

called traffic census
 Various Traffic Studies
1. Volume Studies (the most basic traffic studies)
2. Speed Studies (safety concern)
3. Travel-time Studies (measure quality of
service)
4. Delay Studies
5. Density Studies
6. Accident Studies (accident characteristics,
causal factor, specific location)
7. Parking Studies (inventories or parking supply,
parking accumulations)
 Traffic Studies (contd.)
8. Goods Movement & Transit Studies (truck
loading facilities & transit systems)
9. Pedestrian Studies (crosswalks at
signalized/un-signalized locations)
10. Calibration Studies
11. Observance Studies (effectiveness of various
traffic controls)
 TRAFFIC VOLUME STUDY
• Traffic Volume is the number of vehicles at a given point on the road or
a given lane or direction of a highway during the designated time
interval.
• Traffic Volume is used as a quantity measure of flow. Expressed in
terms of Vehicles Per Hour (vph) or Vehicles Per Day (vpd)
• Traffic volume study includes
• Classified volume
• Traffic distribution by direction
• Turning movements
• Distribution on different lanes per unit time
• Daily volumes are used to establish trends over time and for planning
purposes. Daily volumes generally are not differentiated by direction or
lane but are totals for an entire facility at the specified location.
Different Classes of Traffic
Objectives and uses of traffic volume studies
• True measure of relative importance of roads and in deciding
the priority for improvement and expansion
• Planning, traffic operation and control of existing facilities
• Analysis of traffic patterns and trends
• Classified volume study- Structural design of pavements,
geometric design, computing roadway capacity
• Volume distribution study- planning one way streets,
regulatory measures
• Turning movement study- Design of intersections, signal
timings, channelization
• Pedestrian traffic volume study- Planning side walks,
crosswalks, subways etc
Traffic Scenario in India

Heterogeneity of
traffic
Indian Traffic Scenario.....
Lack of lane Discipline
 Methods of Conducting Volume Counts

1. Manual methods : Field personnel count and classify traffic

flowing past a fixed point

2. Combination of manual and mechanical methods : the field

personnel operates the mechanical devices to count and
record the arrival of vehicles at any given point across a road.

3. Moving observer method

 Methods of Conducting Volume Counts (cont..)

4. Automatic devices : Automatic devices enable a count of traffic

to be taken at any given location and record to be kept of the
count

5. Photographic method : Video photography gives a permanent

record of volume counts. Its analysis can be done conveniently
in the office by replaying the cassette on a computer or TV
monitor.
 Counting of Traffic Volume
• Mechanical Counters
– Permanent or portable type
– Automatically record the total number of vehicles
– Photoelectric cells, Magnetic and Radar detectors
– Classified volume count & turning movements not
possible
– Long count periods
• Manual Counts
– Short count periods
– Classified volume count & turning movements
possible
Methods of Conducting Volume Counts

Manual methods
Automated methods

Pneumatic Road Tubes Loop Detectors

Loop Detectors

Traffic Cameras
 Advantages of Manual Methods
1. Details such as vehicle classification and number of
occupants can be easily obtained.
2. The data can be collected giving the breakdown of traffic in
each direction of travel.
3. Manual methods enable any unusual conditions obtaining
at the time of the count to be recorded.
4. Specific vehicular movements such as left-turns, right-
turns, straight-ahead etc. at a junction can be noted and
recorded.
5. It is more suitable where, Manpower for counting is
available at comparatively cheaper
6. In remote rural areas manual methods are the only
solution.
 Advantages of Manual Methods (cont..)
7. Even if automatic devices are used, it is often necessary
to check the accuracy of these devices periodically and
manual methods serves this purpose.
8. Data accumulated by manual methods are easy to
analyse.
9. Manual methods are suitable for short-term and non-
continuous counts.
 Advantages of Mechanical Devices

1. Where a continuous and regular record of traffic flow is

needed, the only alternative is automatic counters.
2. Their use has been very wide-spread in the developed
countries
3. If counts of remote areas are needed, automatic device
are useful.
4. Data is easy to use in computers
 Automatic devices

• Sensors

• Recorders
 Sensors
1. Pneumatic tube (road tube)
• A flexible tube one end fixed to the road and the other
end connected to a diaphram actuated switch
• When the vehicle crosses, the electrial contact closes
• Two such contact – one count – two axles in a vehicle
– Simple and cheap
– More than two axle vehicle – inaccurate data
– Difficult to fix on gravel surface
– Separate Lane count is not possible
– Pilfered by vandals & damaged by tractors and trailors
Sensors (cont..)
 Sensors (cont..)

2. Electric contact
• A pair of steel strips are buried beneath the surface
• Due to the weight of the vehicle ( during crossing) the
metal strips come into contact and electric current
flows.
• Separate lane count is possible
 Sensors (cont..)

3. Co-axial cable
• A co-axial cable clamped across the road surface
generate signals with the passage of axles which
actuate a transistorized counter.
• It have better reliability and performance on inferior
type of surfaces
• It have lesser susceptibility to damage.
 Sensors (cont..)

4. Photo electric
• A light emitting source is
fixed at one end of the
road
• The photo cell at the other
end – absence of light
• Obstruction by
pedestrians and vehicles
in more than one line
 Sensors (cont..)
6. Infrared and ultrasonic
• Heat radiated by the
vehicles
• Reflection of infrared waves
emitted by the vehicles
 Sensors (cont..)

7. Magnetic
• The magnetic field - a wire
coil buried beneath the
road surface.
• The disturbance caused by
the vehicles
 Videography
• Videographic survey gives a permanent record of
volume counts.
• Its analysis can be done conveniently in the office by
replaying the recorded data from cassette/CD on a
computer or TV monitor.
 Volume Count Surveys
• 24-hour
– 1 or More 24 Hour Period
• 16-hour
– 6 am – 10 pm (90-95% of daily traffic)
• 12-hour
– 7 am – 7 pm (about 75% of daily traffic)
• Peak-periods
– MORNING (8 am – 11 am) and EVENING (4 pm – 7 pm)
• Weekend  6 pm Friday – 6 am Monday
Volume Count Data Sheet
 Traffic Volume Data
There are four daily volume parameters that are widely used traffic
engineering:

 Average Daily Traffic (ADT)

• ADT is the average daily traffic when measurements are taken for a given
number of days.

• Volume measurements to be carried out for minimum of 3 days

 Average Weekday Traffic (AWT)

 Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT)

• AADT is the Average Annual Daily Traffic when measurements are taken for
365 days and averaged out

• Relative importance of route and in phasing the road development programme

 Annual Average Weekday Traffic (AAWT)

 Variations in Traffic Flow
• Variation chart shows hourly, daily and seasonal
variations that helps in deciding the facilities and
regulation needed during peak traffic periods

• Hourly traffic volume varies through out the day

• Daily traffic volume vary in a week and variations

with season
 PASSENGER CAR UNITS (PCU)
• Urban roads are characterized by mixed traffic
resulting on complex interaction between various
kinds of vehicles.

• Passenger Car Unit is the unit generally employed

and each vehicle type is converted into equivalent
PCU’s based on their relative interference value
 PCU
• Different types of vehicles offers different degrees of
interference to other traffic
• Common Unit adopted is the Passenger Car Unit
(PCU)
• PCU of a vehicle type depends on the size, speed of
vehicle, type and kind of road environment
• It is independent of flow condition and road width
 Passenger Car Unit (PCU)
• If the addition of one vehicle per hour in a
traffic stream reduces the average speed of
the remaining vehicles by the same amount as
the addition of say x cars per hour, then one
vehicle of that type is considered to be
equivalent to x PCUs
Urban Vehicle Composition
Bus/Minibus,
Cycle
2%
Rickshaws, 0% Trucks, 1%

Cycles, 5%
Cars/Jeeps/Vans
, 17%

Two-wheeler, Auto-rickshaws,
68% 7%
 IRC Codes
• IRC 106:1990
– Guidelines for capacity of urban roads in plain
areas

• IRC 64: 1990

– Guidelines for capacity of roads in rural conditions
PCU Factors for Various vehicle types in Urban Roads
Sl. No. Vehicle Type Percentage Composition of Vehicle type
in traffic stream
5% 10% and above
Fast Moving Vehicles
1. Two wheeler Motor cycle or 0.5 0.75
scooter
2. Passenger car, pick up van 1.0 1.0
3. Auto Rickshaws 1.2 2.0
4. Light Commercial Vehicle 1.4 2.0
5. Truck or Bus 2.2 3.7
6. Agricultural Tractor Trailer 4.0 5.0
Slow Moving Vehicles
7. Cycle 0.4 0.5
8. Cycle Rickshaw 1.5 2.0
9. Horse Drawn Vehicle 1.5 2.0
10. Hand cart 2.0 3.0

53
Source: IRC 106-1990
 Urban Traffic
PCU
2.2 1.0 0.8 2.0 2.2 0.5
Values
TOTAL
Goods Slow Moving
Buses Private Vehicles & IPT
Vehicles Vehicles
Time
Two Auto
BUS Cars Wheeler Rickshaw Trucks Cycles Vehicles PCUs
s s
16.00-
7 72 232 19 5 17 352 319
16.15
16.15-
5 67 201 17 4 14 308 279
16.30
16.30-
6 75 207 23 5 16 332 308
16.45
16.45-
10 121 250 33 1 18 433 408
17.00

Total
28 335 890 92 15 65 1425 1314
Vehicles
 PCU Factors for Various vehicle types in
Rural Roads
Sl.
Vehicle Type PCU Equivalency factor
No.
1 Motor cycle or scooter 0.50
2 Passenger car, pick up van or Auto Rickshaws 1.00

3 Agricultural Tractor, light commercial vehicle 1.50

4 Truck or Bus 3.00
5 Truck Trailer, Agricultural Tractor Trailer 4.50
6 Cycle 0.50
7 Cycle Rickshaw 2.00
8 Hand cart 3.00
9 Horse Drawn Vehicle 4.00
10 Bullock Cart* 8.00
* For smaller bullock carts , a value of 6 will be appropriate 55
 Rural road condition- NH 210
Total
No. of
Time FAST (GOODS) FAST (PASSENGER) SLOW PCU
Vehicl
es

3- Trac Pick
2- Pass Anima Han
Axl Good tor up Two Cycle-
Axle Oth Std. Mini Cars/J enge Bicycle l d
From To e MAV LCV s and Vans/ Whee Ricksh
Truc ers Buses Buses eeps r s Draw Cart
Tru Auto Trail Maxic lers aw
ks Auto n s
cks er a

PCU 3 3 4.5 1.5 1.5 4.5 4.5 3 3 1 1 0.5 1 0.5 2 6 3

18:1
18:00 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 1 19 0 2 0 0 0 30 24
5

18:3
18:15 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 20 0 3 0 0 0 31 30
0

18:4
18:30 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 10 1 2 0 0 0 20 21
5

19:0
18:45 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 13 0 2 0 0 0 22 20.5
0
Rural road Vehicle composition
0% 0%
3% 0%
1% 2- Axle Trucks
1% 0%
9%
0% 3-Axle Trucks
7% 1%
MAV
0%
6% LCV
0%
Goods Auto
51%
17%
Tractor and Trailer

2%
 Hourly Variation of traffic
Percentage Variation Vs Time

Hourly Variation_All Vehicles

8
7
6
% Variation

5
4
3
22/02/2012
2 23/02/2012
1 24/02/2012

Time, hrs
 PCU/hr

100
150
200
250

0
50
18:00-19:00
19:15-20:15
20:30-21:30
21:45-22:45
23:00-24:00
0:15 - 1:15
1:30 - 2:30
2:45 - 3:45
4:00 - 5:00
5:15 - 6:15
Karaikkudi to Ramanathapuram

6:30 - 7:30
7:45 - 8:45
Time in hrs 09:00-10:00
PCU/hr vs Time

10:15-11:15
11:30-12:30
12:45-13:45
14:00-15:00
15:15-16:15
16:30-17:30
17:45-18:45
 TRAFFIC SPEED
• Speed- Rate of motion of individual vehicles of
a traffic stream. Measured in m/s or kmph
• Depends on geometric features, traffic
conditions, environment, time, place etc.
• Travel time is the reciprocal of speed
• Spot speed is the instantaneous speed of a
vehicle at a specified section
• Average speed is the average of spot speeds of
all vehicles passing a given point
• Two types of speed measurement-Time mean speed,
space mean speed
• Time mean speed- Mean speed of vehicles observed
at a point over a period of time
• Time mean speed represents the speed distribution
of vehicles at a point on roadway
• Space mean speed-Mean speed of vehicles in a
traffic stream at any instant over a length
• Average travel time of all vehicles is obtained from
reciprocal of space mean speed
• Space mean speed is slightly lower than time mean
speed
• Running Speed is the average speed maintained by a
vehicle over a particular stretch of road while in
motion
• Overall speed or travel speed is the effective speed
with which a vehicle traverses a particular route
between two terminals
• Speed studies carried out to give the general trend in
speeds. They are of two types
»Spot Speed study
»Speed and Delay study
 Spot Speed Studies
• Typical purposes of speed studies
– Speed trends over time
– Traffic control planning
– Before-and-after studies
– Crash analyses
– Geometric design
– Research studies
Spot Speed measurements
Direct and Indirect methods
Direct method
 Short base method
- Speed measured using sensors, detectors etc. for a short
distance of 2-3m
Long Base Method
-Speed measurements for much higher distance in the range
of 30 m span. It can be done by means of stopwatch,
Enoscope etc
- Method is simple and cheap. But the Progress of data
collection will be slow and chances of human error
 Spot Speed Study
Spot speed measurements taken using stop watch method. It
forms

- References points
- Reference points separated by base length
- Time duration taken for the vehicles to cover the base length
gives Speed of the vehicle

Speed Range( Kmph) Base Length/Trap length

Less than 40 27m
40 to 65 54 m
Greater than 65 81 m
 Manual Speed Measurement
Stopwatch Method
Automated Spot Speed Measurements

• Road Detectors
– Inductive loop
Road Tubes for Collection of Spot Speed

Recorder
 S = ((((W+d)/(T2-T1)) + ((W+d)/(T2’-T1’)))/2) x 3.6
Digital camera
S – Speed in km/h
Flash
W – Distance between Loops in meters
Video camera
d – loop width in meters

T1 – Vehicle entry time at Loop A

T1’ - Vehicle exit time at Loop A

T2 - Vehicle entry time at Loop B

Controller
T2’ - Vehicle exit time at Loop B

Loop A

Loop B
Digital camera
Flash

Video camera

Controller

Loop A

Loop B
Digital camera
Flash

Video camera

Controller

Loop A

Loop B
Digital camera
Flash

Video camera

Controller

Loop A

Loop B
 T1 – 0.00 Registered

Digital camera

Flash

Video camera

Controller

Loop A

Loop B

T1 – Vehicle entry time at Loop A

 T1 – 0.00 Registered

Digital camera
Flash

Video camera

Controller

Loop A

Loop B
 T1 – 0.00 Registered

Digital camera T1’ – 0.11 Registered

Flash

Video camera

Controller

Loop A

Loop B

T1’ – Vehicle exit time at Loop A

 T1 – 0.00 Registered

Digital camera T1’ – 0.11 Registered

Flash T2 – 0.46 Registered

Video camera

Controller

Loop A

Loop B

T2 – Vehicle entry time at Loop B

 T1 – 0.00 Registered

Digital camera T1’ – 0.11 Registered

Flash T2 – 0.46 Registered

T2’– 0.58 Registered
Video camera

Controller

Loop A

Loop B

T2’ – Vehicle exit time at Loop B

 T1 – 0.00 Registered

Digital camera T1’ – 0.11 Registered

Flash T2 – 0.46 Registered

T2’ – 0.58 Registered
Video camera

Controller
 Speed km/ h = (((W+d)/(T2-T1)+ (W+d)/(T2’-T1’))/2) 3.6
Digital camera
Flash
S = (((6+2)/(0.46-0.00)+ (6+2)/(0.58-0.11))/2) 3.6
Video camera

61.94
km/h

T1 – 0.00
T1’ – 0.12
T2 – 0.48
2m 6m
T2’ – 0.6
2. Interceptors

• Bangalore City
• Speed Gun
• Mobile Enforcement
Presentation of Spot Speed Data
Speed Range Mid Speed Cumulative
Sl.No. Frequency Frequency%
Kmph Kmph Frequency%

1 0-10 5 12 1.41 1.41

2 10-20 15 18 2.12 3.53
3 20-30 25 68 8.0 11.53
4 30-40 35 89 10.47 22.00
5 40-50 45 204 24.0 46.00
6 50-60 55 255 33.0 76.00
7 60-70 65 119 14.0 90.00
8 70-80 75 43 5.06 95.06
9 80-90 85 33 3.88 98.94
10 90-100 95 9 1.06 100.0
 Cumulative Speed Distribution
105
100 95th Percentile Speed
95
90 85th Percentile Speed
85
80
Cumulative % frequency

75
70
65
60 50th Percentile Speed
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20 15th Percentile Speed
15
10
5
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Speed in Kmph
Spot Speed Analysis
Percentile Speeds
15th Percentile Speed
- Lower limit of Speed Regulation
50th Percentile Speed
- Average Speed
85th Percentile Speed
- Upper limit of Speed regulation
95th percentile Speed
- Design Speed
- 98th Percentile are also considered
 Speed and Delay study
• Studies give the running speeds, overall
speeds, fluctuations in speeds and the delay
between two stations spaced apart
• Amount, Location, duration frequency and
causes of delay in traffic stream
• Detecting the spot of congestion
• Travel time and benefit cost analysis
• Efficiency of roadway
• Delays can be fixed or operational
Various methods of Speed & Delay studies

• Floating Car or Riding check method

• License plate or vehicle number method

• Interview technique

• Elevated observation

• Photographic technique
 TRAFFIC DENSITY
• Density is the number of vehicles occupying a
unit length of road at an instant of time
• Density is maximum when vehicles are in
jammed condition, known as jamming density
• Unit length is generally one kilometre
• Expressed in relation to the width of the road
(per lane, per two lanes etc)
 Volume & Demand
Volume - Number of vehicles (persons) passing a point
during a specified time period which is usually one
hour.

Demand - Number of vehicles (persons) that desire to

travel past a point during a specified period also usually
one hour.
 Capacity
Capacity, Maximum hourly volume (vehicles per hour)
at which vehicles can be reasonably be expected to
traverse a point or uniform section of a lane or road
way during a given period under the prevailing roadway
traffic and control conditions
 CAPACITY
• Basic Capacity- The maximum number of
passenger cars that can pass a point on a lane or
roadway during an hour under ideal conditions
• Possible Capacity- The maximum number of
passenger cars that can pass a point on a lane or
roadway under prevailing conditions
• Practical Capacity- The maximum number of
passenger cars that can pass a point on a lane or
roadway without any delay (Design capacity)
Determination of Theoretical Maximum Capacity

C= 1000V /S

C= Capacity of a single lane , vehicle per hour

V = Speed in Kmph
S = Average centre to centre spacing of vehicles
 Fundamental diagram of traffic flow

3/14/2016 92
 LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS)
• Level of Service is a qualitative measure describing
operational conditions within a traffic stream, and
their perception by drivers/passengers.

• Levels of service are designated from A to F, with

Level of Service A representing the best operating
condition (i.e. free flow)and Level of Service F the
worst (i.e. forced or break-down flow)
SPEED- VOLUME CURVE
 Level of Service (LOS)
• LOS A – Free flow, with low volumes and high speeds
• LOS B – Zone of stable flow with operating speeds beginning to
be restricted
• LOS C – Zone of stable flow, but speeds and manoeuvrability are
more closely controlled by higher volumes
• LOS D – Approaches unstable flow with tolerable operating
speeds
• LOS E – Flow is unstable and there may be stoppages of
momentary duration
• LOS F – Forced flow operations at low speeds where volumes
are below capacity
 DESIGN SERVICE VOLUME
Design Service Volume is the maximum hourly
volume at which vehicles can reasonably be
expected to traverse a point or uniform section of
a lane or roadway during a given time period
under the prevailing roadway traffic and control
conditions while maintaining a designated level
of service.
 Recommended Design Service Volumes in
PCU/hour
Sl. No. Type of Carriageway Arterial Sub Arterial Collector

1 2-Lane (One-Way) 2400 1900 1400

2 2-Lane (Two-Way) 1500 1200 900

3 3-Lane (One-Way) 3600 2900 2200

4 4-Lane Undivided (Two-Way) 3000 2400 1800

5 4-Lane Divided (Two-Way) 3600 2900 -

6 6-Lane Undivided (Two-Way) 4800 3800 -

7 6-Lane Divided (Two-Way) 5400 4300 -

8 8-Lane Divided (Two-Way) 7200 - -

97
Source: IRC 106-1990
FACTORS AFFECTING CAPACITY & LOS
• Roadway Factors
– Lane width
– Lateral Clearance
– Shoulders
– Surface condition
– Alignment
– Grades
• Traffic Factors
Thank You