Chapter Two Traffic Volume and Flow Rate
Chapter Two Traffic Volume and Flow Rate
CHAPTER TWO
TRAFFIC VOLUME AND FLOW RATE
Traffic Volume :
The total volume passing a point or segment of a road for one year,
The total volume passing a point or segment of a road for one full
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.
Example:
Total number of vehicles for October = 20700 . Find AADT and AAWT?
Sol.
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
The directional design hour volume (DDHV) is the one-way volume in the
of the two-way DHV. For rural and suburban roads, the directional
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.
Example:
AADT = 3500 vehicle / day , DHV = 420 vehicle / day. Find K – Factor ?
Sol.
= 12.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
Sol.
1.
= 4350 / (4 x 1250)
= 0.87
Two methods are available for conducting traffic volume counts: (1) manual
and (2) automatic. Manual counts are typically used to gather data for
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,
given location. Manual counts are sometimes used when the effort and
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,
Manual counts are recorded using one of three methods: tally sheets,
tally sheets
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.
11 Civil Engineering - Third stage
Traffic Wisam Abdulla Najim ALHalfi
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,
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
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:
q : is the estimated flow on the road in the direction of interest. ( traffic flow
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 .
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?
Sol.
Passenger Car Unit (PCU) value is very important for any traffic flow studies
hours etc.) reported based on which PCE values are calculated for different
types of vehicles.
Example:
Sol.
Traffic Forecast :
Future traffic volume: for the design and includes a carry current traffic and
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
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.
a) Induced traffic.
b) Converted traffic.
c) Shifted traffic.
Is part of the future traffic volume due to the improvement of the land
Can calculate the design traffic volume as a result of the natural growth
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.
Example :
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.