Lecture 9 :- Speed Studies

Presented By
Dr. Moustafa Abdelsalam
Time

Time
 Spot speed study
• A spot speed study is carried out by recording the
speeds of a sample of vehicles at a specified
location.
• The speed of a vehicle is defined as the rate of
movement of the vehicle; it is usually expressed in
miles per hour (mi/h) or kilometers per hour
(km/h).
• Spot speed studies are conducted to estimate the
distribution of speeds of vehicles in a stream of
traffic at a particular location on a highway.
Uses of Spot Speed Data
Locations for Spot Speed Studies
Time of Day and Duration of Spot Speed
Studies
1. When the purpose of the study is to establish
posted speed limits, to observe speed trends, or to
collect basic data, it is recommended that the
study be conducted when traffic is free-flowing,
usually during off-peak hours.
2. The duration is at least 1 hour and the sample size
is at least 30 vehicles.
Measurement Techniques
• Spot speeds are generally measured using one of two
techniques, Manual and Automatic Methods.
A.The manual method is rarely used.
Measurement of travel times as vehicles traverse a short
measured distance along the highway.
B.The automatic devices can be grouped into three main
categories:
1.Those that use road detectors.
2.Use of hand-held or fixed-mounted radar meters.
3.For more complex multi-parametric studies, there are
detectors that can measure speed and other parameters.
Video technologies, such as the Autoscope, are also rapidly
advancing and may be applied to traffic studies that extend
over a long period of time or that involve permanent
installations for remote monitoring of a given location.
A - Manual Method
Travel Times Traversing a Short Measured Distance
• A short distance between the two road tubes was called a “trap.” This is
the origin of the colloquial “speed trap:’ which now is used to describe
any police speed monitoring location.
• For traffic engineering studies, the simplest, cheapest, and easiest
methodology involves manual use of stopwatches to time vehicles as
they traverse an easily recognized trap.
• While the trap can be marked with wide tape, natural and/or existing
boundaries are most often used.
• Thus, the time for vehicles to traverse the distance between two
pavement cracks or two light standards might be used. In such studies,
the observer stands at the location of one of the trap boundaries (usually
the entry boundary). This allows the observer to view vehicles crossing
the boundary without distortion. It guarantees, however, that the
observer views the other (usually the exit) boundary at an angle. This
creates a systematic measurement error called “parallax,” which is
illustrated in Figure below.
• The observer sees the vehicle crossing the exit boundary that is d from
the entry boundary when the vehicle is actually only deff from the entry
boundary. While the exhibit shows parallax error occurring
• The parallax error is easily corrected, as long as the
angle of observation, ϕ, is known. If known, the
distance deff may then be computed as:
deff = d1 Tan ϕ
Si = deff
ti
Where:
Si = speed of vehicle i, m/s
deff = actual distance over which travel time of
vehicle i is measured, m
ti = times for vehicle i to traverse the distance defy, s
d1 = perpendicular distance of observer from line of
travel, m
ϕ = angle between lines of sight, degrees
B - Automatic method
1. Road Detectors
• Road detectors can be classified into two general
categories: pneumatic road tubes and inductive loops
‫حلقات االستقراء‬.
• These devices can be used to collect data on speeds at
the same time as volume data are being collected.
• The road detectors spacing from 3 to 15 ft.
• The advantage of the detector meters is that human
errors are considerably reduced.
• The disadvantages of the detector meters are that:
1. These devices tend to be rather expensive
2. When pneumatic tubes are used, they are rather
conspicuous ‫ واضح‬and may, therefore, affect driver
behavior, resulting in a distortion of the speed
distribution.
Pneumatic road tubes
• Are laid across the lane in which data are to be
collected.
• When a moving vehicle passes over the tube, an air
impulse is transmitted through the tube to the counter.
• When used for speed measurements, two tubes are
placed across the lane, usually about 6 ft apart.
• An impulse is recorded when the front wheels of a
moving vehicle pass over the first tube; shortly
afterward a second impulse is recorded when the front
wheels pass over the second tube.
• The time elapsed between the two impulses and the
distance between the tubes are used to compute the
speed of the vehicle.
Road tubes used to count & classify traffic,
and measure the speed
 An inductive loop
• Is a rectangular wire loop buried ‫مدفون‬under the
roadway surface.
• It usually serves as the detector of a resonant
circuit. It operates on the principle that a
disturbance in the electrical field is created when
a motor vehicle passes across it.
• This causes a change in potential that is amplified,
resulting in an impulse being sent to the counter.
2- Radar Meters
• The easiest methodology for observing speeds is through the use of
either hand-held or vehicle-mounted radar meters.
• These devices measure speed directly by reflecting an emitted radar
wave off an oncoming vehicle and measuring the difference in the
frequency between the emitted and reflected radar wave.
• This difference in frequency is referred to as the “Doppler effect,”
and is proportional to the speed of the oncoming vehicle.
Hand held Fixed-mounted radar meters
 Spot Speed Data Analysis
1- Average Speed (Time Mean Speed)
which is the arithmetic mean of all observed vehicle
speeds (which is the sum of all spot speeds divided by
the number of recorded speeds). It is given as:
𝑈t =

𝑈t =
 Spot Speed Data Analysis
1- Average Speed (Time Mean Speed)
which is the arithmetic mean of all observed vehicle
speeds (which is the sum of all spot speeds divided by
the number of recorded speeds). It is given as:
𝑈t =

𝑈t =
2- Median Speed
• which is the speed at the middle value in a series of spot speeds that
are arranged in ascending order; 50 percent of the speed values will
be greater than the median; 50 percent will be less than the median.
‫)‪4- Speed limit (Design speed‬‬
‫هى السرعة التى تسير باقل منها ‪ % 85‬من السيارات وتسير بأكثر‬
‫منها ‪ % 15‬من السيارات‬
3- Modal Speed
• which is the speed value that occurs most
frequently in a sample of spot speeds.
5-Pace
• which is the range of speed—usually taken at 10-
km/h intervals—that has the greatest number of
observations.
• For example, if a set of speed data includes speeds
between 30 and 60 km/h, the speed intervals will
be 30 to 40 km/h, 40 to 50 km/h, and 50 to 60
km/h, assuming a range of 10 km/h.
• The pace is 40 to 50 km/h if this range of speed has
the highest number of observations.
‫‪6-Standard Deviation of Speeds‬‬
‫• هو قيمة لوصف مدى إنتشار السرعات حول المتوسط الحسابى‪.‬‬
8- Standard error of mean
𝑍𝜎
• d=
√𝑁
Where:
d = standard error of mean
𝜎 = standard deviation
N = sample size

• µ = U ± d, with 68.3% confidence level

• µ = U ± 1.96 d, with 95% confidence level
• µ = U ± 3.00 d, with 99.7% confidence level
 Presentation and Analysis of Spot
Speed Data

7. The 15th-percentile speed

8. Design speed
9. What are the 95% confidence bounds?
Standard error of mean at 95 % confidence level
(the 95% confidence bounds) ‫حدود الثقة‬
σ ±6.5
• d=Z = 1.96 = ± 1.37 mi/h
√N √86
• µ = 49.5 ± 1.37 , at 95% confidence level
• The true mean of the speed distribution lies between
48.13 and 50.87 mi/h with 95% confidence level
P (48.13 ≤ µ ≤ 50.87) = 0.95
Design speed = 59 (mi/h)

P 15 = 59 (mi/h)