Traffic Wisam Abdulla Najim ALHalfi

CHAPTER TWO
TRAFFIC VOLUME AND FLOW RATE
Traffic Volume :

The number of vehicles passing a point on a lane roadway or other traffic –

way during sometime interval , expressed ( vehicles , bicycles or persons per

hour) or ( vehicles / hour).

1. Annual Average Daily Traffic ( AADT) :

The total volume passing a point or segment of a road for one year,

divided by the number of days in the year.

2. Annual Average Weekday Traffic ( AAWT):

The total volume passing a point or segment of a road for one full

week, divided by the number of days in the week (7).

3. Average Daily Traffic ( ADT) :

is the average number of vehicles two-way passing a specific point in a

24-hour period, normally measured throughout a year. ADT is not as

highly referred to as the engineering standard of AADT which is the

standard measurement for vehicle traffic load on a section of road, and

the basis for most decisions regarding transport planning, or to the

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environmental hazards of pollution related to road transport.

4. Average Weekday Traffic ( AAWT):

The total volume passing a point or segment of a road for one full

working week divided by the number of days in the working week (5).

Example:
Total number of vehicles one year = 328500 . Find AADT and AAWT?

Sol.

AADT = Total number of vehicles one year / 365

= 328500 / 365
= 900 vehicle / day.
AAWT = Total number of vehicles one year / 260
= 328500 / 260
= 1264 vehicle / day.

Example:
Total number of vehicles for October = 20700 . Find AADT and AAWT?

Sol.

ADT = 20700 / 31 = 668 vehicle / day.

AWT = 20700 / 22 = 941 vehicle / day.

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Design Hour Volume ( DHV ) :

Is a two-way traffic volume that is determined by multiplying the ADT by a

percentage called the K-factor. Values for K typically range from 8 to 12%

for urban facilities and 12 to 18% for rural facilities. Neither the AADT nor

the ADT indicate the variations in traffic volumes that occur on an hourly

basis during the day, specifically high traffic volumes that occur during the

peak hour of travel. The traffic engineer has to balance the desire to provide

an adequate level of service (LOS) for the peak hour traffic volume with

proposing a design in which the highway capacity would only be utilized for

a few hours of the year.

K – Factor = ( DHV / AADT ) x 100

Directional Design Hour Volume

The directional design hour volume (DDHV) is the one-way volume in the

predominant direction of travel in the design hour, expressed as a percentage

of the two-way DHV. For rural and suburban roads, the directional

distribution factor (D) ranges from 55 to 80 percent. A factor of

approximately 50 percent is used for urban highways. Keep in mind that the

directional distribution can change during the day. For example, traffic

volume heading into the central business district is usually higher than

outbound traffic in the morning, but the reverse is true during the afternoon

peak hour.

DDHV = ADT (or AADT)*K*D.

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Which hour used ?

1. Average hourly volume – inadequate design
2. Maximum peak hour – not economical
3. Hourly volume used for design should not be exceeded very often or by
very much.
4. Usually use 30th highest hourly volume of the year
5. Tends to be constant year to year
Typically, 30HV is equal to
– 15% of AADT in rural areas
– 8-12% in urban areas.
– Why 30th HHV?
1. Compromise: to high is wasteful, too low poor operation
2. Approximately median weekly peak hour volume (top highest week
peak hours)

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Example:

AADT = 3500 vehicle / day , DHV = 420 vehicle / day. Find K – Factor ?

Sol.

K – Factor = ( DHV / AADT ) x 100

= (420 / 3500 ) * 100

= 12.

Peak Hour Volume:

The peak hour volume is the volume of traffic that uses the approach, lane, or

lane group in question during the hour of the day that observes the highest

traffic volumes for that intersection. For example, rush hour might be the

peak hour for certain interstate acceleration ramps. The peak hour volume

would be the volume of passenger car units that used the ramps during rush

hour. Notice the conversion to passenger car units. The peak hour volume is

normally given in terms of passenger car units, since changing turning all

vehicles into passenger car units makes these volume calculations more

representative of what is actually going on.

The peak hour flow rate is also given in passenger car units/hour. Sometimes

these two terms are used interchangeably because they are identical

numerically.

Peak Hour Factor

The peak hour factor (PHF) is derived from the peak hour volume. It is

simply the ratio of the peak hour volume to four times the peak fifteen -

minute volume. (The relationship between the 15-min flow rate and the full

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hourly volume is given by the peak hour factor. )

For example, during the peak hour, there will probably be a

fifteen-minute period in which the traffic volume is more dense than during

the remainder of the hour. That is the peak fifteen minutes, and the volume of

traffic that uses the approach, lane, or lane group during those fifteen minutes

is the peak fifteen-minute volume. The peak hour factor is given below.

Peak Hour Factor:

PHF = Peak hour volume/(4*Peak fifteen minute volume)

Design Flow Rate ( q) :

The design flow rate or the actual flow rate, for an approach, lane, or lane

group is the peak hour volume (flow rate) for that entity divided by the peak

hour factor. A simpler way to arrive at the design flow rate is to multiply the

peak fifteen-minute volume by 4. However you derive the figure, most

calculations, such as those that measure the current use of intersection

capacity, require the actual flow rate (design flow rate).

Example:

The table below shows the volumes of traffic during periods of time

consecutive. Find :
1. Flow rate .
2. Total vehicles per hour volume ( vehicle / hour).
3. PHF.
Time Volume ( vehicle)
5:00 – 5:15 950
5:15 – 5:30 1150
5:30 – 5:45 1250
5:45 – 6:00 1000

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Sol.

1.

Time Volume ( vehicle) Peak hour volume

5:00 – 5:15 950 950 x 4 = 3800
5:15 – 5:30 1150 1150 x 4 = 4600
5:30 – 5:45 1250 1250 x 4 = 5000
5:45 – 6:00 1000 1000 x 4 = 4000

2. Total volume = 950 + 1150 + 1250 + 1000 = 4350( vehicle / hour)

3. PHF = Total volume / (4*Peak fifteen minute volume)

= 4350 / (4 x 1250)

= 0.87

Traffic Volume Counts :

Two methods are available for conducting traffic volume counts: (1) manual

and (2) automatic. Manual counts are typically used to gather data for

determination of vehicle classification, turning movements, direction of

travel, pedestrian movements, or vehicle occupancy. Automatic counts are

typically used to gather data for determination of vehicle hourly patterns,

daily or seasonal variations and growth trends, or annual traffic estimates.

The selection of study method should be determined using the count period.

The count period should be representative of the time of day, day of month,

and month of year for the study area.

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MANUAL COUNT METHOD:

Most applications of manual counts require small samples of data at any

given location. Manual counts are sometimes used when the effort and

expense of automated equipment are not justified. Manual counts are

necessary when automatic equipment is not available.

Manual counts are typically used for periods of less than a day. Normal

intervals for a manual count are 5, 10, or 15 minutes. Traffic counts during a

Monday morning rush hour and a Friday evening rush hour may show

exceptionally high volumes and are not normally used in analysis; therefore,

counts are usually conducted on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.

Manual Count Recorrdiing Metthods :

Manual counts are recorded using one of three methods: tally sheets,

mechanical counting boards, or electronic counting boards.

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tally sheets

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mechanical counting boards

electronic counting boards

AUTOMATIC COUNT METHOD:

The automatic count method provides a means for gathering large amounts of

traffic data. Automatic counts are usually taken in 1-hour intervals for each

24-hour period. The counts may extend for a week, month, or year. When the

counts are recorded for each 24-hour time period, the peak flow period can

be identified.
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Moving Observer Method:

There are two approaches to the moving observer method. The first is a

simple floating car procedure in which speeds and travel times are recorded

as a function of time and location along the road. While the intention in this

method is that the floating car behaves as an average vehicle within the

traffic stream, the method cannot give precise average speed data. It is,

however, effective for obtaining qualitative information about freeway

operations without the need for elaborate equipment or procedures. One form

of this approach uses a second person in the car to record speeds and travel

times. A second form uses a modified recording speedometer of the type

regularly used in long-distance trucks or buses. One drawback of this

approach is that it means there are usually significantly fewer speed

observations than volume observations. An example of this kind of problem

appears in Morton and Jackson (1992).

The method developed by Wardrop and Charlesworth is based on a survey

vehicle that travels in both directions on the road. The formulae allow one to

estimate both speeds and flows for one direction of travel. The two formulae

are:

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q : is the estimated flow on the road in the direction of interest. ( traffic flow

in one direction ( vehicle / hour).

x : is the number of vehicles traveling in the direction of interest, which are

met by the survey vehicle while traveling in the opposite direction

y : is the net number of vehicles that overtake the survey vehicle while
traveling in the direction of interest (i.e. those passing minus those
overtaken).

ta : is the travel time taken for the trip against the stream .

tw : is the travel time for the trip with the stream.

t : is the estimate of mean travel time in the direction of interest.

Example:

In table shown below . Determine the flow and mean travel time for cars ,

trucks and busses . Also determine total flow and average travel time all

vehicle?

try cars trucks busses cars trucks busses total total ta tw

+ ‫ـــ‬ + ‫ ـــ‬+ ‫ ـــ‬+ ‫ـــ‬
1 77 3 8 2 2 88 1.73 2.50
2 82 4 10 2 2 96 3.88 3.45
3 60 6 6 3 3 72 2.30 2.92
4 56 6 3 2 2 65 2.8 2.71
∑f 275 19 27 1 0 0 1 321 10.71 11.58
∑f 68.75 4.75 6.75 0.25 0 0 0.25 50.25 2.68 2.90
/n

Sol.

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Passenger Car Equivalent (PCU):

Passenger Car Unit (PCU) value is very important for any traffic flow studies

of vehicles. Passenger car equivalents (PCE) are used as factors to convert a

traffic stream composed of different vehicle types into an equivalent traffic

stream composed exclusively of passenger cars (reference vehicles). In the

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literature there are different measures of impedance (speed, density, vehicle –

hours etc.) reported based on which PCE values are calculated for different

types of vehicles.

Vehicles Round a bout Rural road Urban road Traffic singnal

types
Private cars 1 1 1 1
H.G.V. 2.8 3 2 1.75
Buss 2.8 3 3 2.25
Motor cycle 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

Example:

A flow of 300 Vehicles mode up to 240 Cars , 45 H.G.V. and 15 Busses on an

urban road . Determine the PCU?

Sol.

PCU = ( 240 x1) + ( 45 x 2 ) + ( 15 x 3) = 375 PCU.

Traffic Forecast :

Future traffic volume: for the design and includes a carry current traffic and

traffic is expected to increase year design.

Component of future traffic volume :

1. Current traffic volume :

Is defined as the number of vehicles that use the new road or enhanced

when it opens. If the road is of the previous has been improve it, the

current traffic consists of vehicles which have been used old road

vehicles added to it that attracted to the way of other ways.

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2. Generated traffic volume :

This type refers to the future vehicle trip (except for trips that work by

public transport), which does not occur in the case of a new road.

( 5 % - 25 % ) .It consists of three components:

a) Induced traffic.
b) Converted traffic.
c) Shifted traffic.

3. Development traffic volume:

Is part of the future traffic volume due to the improvement of the land

adjacent to the highway. ( 250 %)

4. Normal growth traffic volume :

Increased traffic due to natural growth . ( 4 % ).

Can calculate the design traffic volume as a result of the natural growth

of the following equation:

Where;
ADTD = Average daily traffic volume of design.
ADTC = Average daily traffic volume of current.
e = Annual rate of traffic increase.
n = Number of design years.
F = Traffic forecast traffic.

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Example :

If the average daily volume of traffic to a local road (1500 vehicles /

day). Calculate the average daily traffic volume of the design after (10

years) with the knowledge that the annual increase in traffic volume

3%.

Sol.

ADTD = 1500 ( 1 + 0.03 ) 10 = 20159 vph.

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