Traffic Engineering

Dr.Aminah T. Albadri
Al Nahrain university/ civil engineering department
Fundamentals of Traffic Engineering
An introduction

 Traffic Engineering is the sub discipline of transportation engineering that

encompasses the planning, design, and operation of the transportation network,
adjacent land uses, and the interaction among all modes of transportation
involved
 A traffic engineer must understand not only the basic characteristics of the road
user, the vehicle, and the roadway, but how each interacts with the others and
how these interactions affect traffic operations and safety.
 A traffic engineer is called on to exercise a broad range of skills and must be
sensitive to a wide range of issues for the road user experience to be safe,
efficient, and cost effective.
This class is aimed to
 introduce the knowledge in the traffic engineering field.
After attending the class ,participants should be able to:

 Navigate and apply principles found in Manuals related

 Evaluate and diagnose capacity and safety deficiencies
 Correlate specific crash types with appropriate safety countermeasures
 Conduct appropriate traffic engineering studies
 Make practical decisions,,, and select and implement appropriate traffic
engineering solutions for specific situation.
Objectives of traffic engineering

 Safety is the primary objective – More than 40,000 people die each year in
traffic accidents.
Safety can be provided for the public through positive programs, good practice,
knowledge,
and proper procedure

Speed: While speed of travel is much to be desired, it is limited by
transportation
technology, human characteristics, and the need to provide safety. (Higher
speed means
shorter travel time. Interstate highways encourage long distance trips.)
Objectives of traffic engineering
 Comfort – Involves the physical characteristics of vehicles and roadways and
their influenced by our perception of safety
 Convenience – The ease of making trips and the ability of transport systems to
accommodate all travel needs
Objectives of traffic engineering
 Economy – Try to provide the best possible systems for the money. There is
little in modern
transportation systems that can be termed “cheap.”Highway and other
transportation
systems involve massive construction, maintenance, and operating
expenditures, most of
which are provided through general and user taxes and fees. Nevertheless,
every engineer,
regardless of discipline, is called upon to provide the best possible systems for
the money
Objectives of traffic engineering
 Environmental compatibility – Provide sustainable transport systems. All
transportation
systems have some negative impacts on the environment. All produce air and
noise
pollution in some forms, and all utilize valuable land resources.
Components of Traffic Systems

 Four critical components of traffic system are

1. Road users - drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and passenger

2. Vehicles - private and commercial
3. Roadways - Streets and highways
4. Control devices
1.Road users & 2. Vehicles
. Roadways - Streets and highways
But ,what about highway? Is it bridge??
 Do your search
Control devices
Transportation Modes

 We have different modes, and these modes can be used according to different
factors that can affect person or vehicle movements
Transportation Modes

 1. Road transport:
a. Vehicles,
b. Buses,
c. Heavy vehicles,
d. Motor cycle,
e. Bicycle
 2. Railways:
a. Surface,
b. Underground,
c. Elevated,
d. Tramway (light rail)
 3. Air transport.
 4. Water transport.
 5. Pipeline
While the factors that affecting person and vehicles
movement selection are:

 1. Effect of mode type

 2. Effect of roadway type
 3. Effect of composition of traffic
composition of traffic
composition of traffic
composition of traffic
composition of traffic
Now , check your understanding
1.What is traffic engineer concern with?
2.Can you illustrate more than three local traffic problems? Explain briefly ?
Suggest reasons and solutions.
3.What is meant by traffic composition? Express in your own words
 Today readers are tomorrows leaders
 You can always seek for more information and details, make use of suggested
references below:
  Highway Capacity Manual (HCM)
 Traffic and Highway Engineering (Garber and Lester)