Dr.

Duraid M Abd Civil Engineering 2019

 Side slopes of embankment or cutting: It depends on the height of the

slope, soil type etc.
 Drainage system and their size which depends on rainfall, topography etc.
 Sight distance considerations: On curves, there is restriction to the
visibility on the inner side of the curve due to the presence of some
obstructions like building structures etc.
 Reserve land for future widening: Some land has to be acquired in
advance anticipating future developments like widening of the road.

1.5 Site Distance

In highway alignment design, the sight distance is a fundamental consideration

that should be provided throughout the alignment. The safe and efficient
operation of vehicles on the road depends very much on the visibility of the
road ahead of the driver. Thus, the geometric design of the road should be done
such that any obstruction on the road length could be visible to the driver from
some distance ahead. This distance is called to be the sight distance. Sight
distance available from a point is the actual distance along the road surface,
over which a driver from a specified height above the carriage way has visibility
of stationary or moving objects. Three sight distance situations are considered
for design:

 Stopping sight distance (SSD) or the absolute minimum sight distance

 Intermediate sight distance (ISD) is defined as twice SSD
 Overtaking sight distance (OSD) for safe overtaking operation
 Head light sight distance is the distance visible to a driver during night
driving under the illumination of head lights
 Safe sight distance to enter into an intersection.

The most important consideration in all these is that at all times the driver
traveling at the design speed of the highway must have sufficient carriageway

22
Dr. Duraid M Abd Civil Engineering 2019

distance within his line of vision to allow him to stop his vehicle before
colliding with a slowly moving or stationary object appearing suddenly in his
own traffic lane.

The computation of sight distance depends on:

 Reaction time of the driver. Reaction time of a driver is the time taken
from the instant the object is visible to the driver to the instant when the
brakes are applied. The total reaction time may be split up into four
components. In practice, all these times are usually combined into a total
perception-reaction time suitable for design purposes as well as for easy
measurement. Many of the studies shows that drivers require about 1.5 to
2 secs under normal conditions. However, taking into consideration the
variability of driver characteristics, a higher value is normally used in
design. A reaction time of 2.5 sec is considered adequate for design
purposes.
 Speed of the vehicle. The speed of the vehicle very much affects the
sight distance. Higher the speed, more time will be required to stop the
vehicle. Hence it is evident that, as the speed increases, sight distance
also increases.
 Efficiency of brakes. The efficiency of the brakes depends upon the age
of the vehicle, vehicle characteristics etc. If the brake efficiency is 100%,
the vehicle will stop at the moment the brakes are applied. However,
practically, it is not possible to achieve 100% brake efficiency. Therefore,
the sight distance required will be more when the efficiency of brakes are
less. Also for safe geometric design, we assume that the vehicles have
only 50% brake efficiency.
 Frictional resistance between the tyre and the road. The frictional
resistance between the tyre and road plays an important role to bring the
vehicle to stop. When the frictional resistance is more, the vehicles stop

23
Dr. Duraid M Abd Civil Engineering 2019

immediately. No separate provision for brake efficiency is provided while

computing the sight distance. This is taken into account along with the
factor of longitudinal friction. It is has generally specified the value of
longitudinal friction in between 0.35 to 0.4.
 Gradient of the road. Gradient of the road also affects the sight distance.
While climbing up a gradient, the vehicle can stop immediately;
therefore, sight distance required is less. On the other hand, on
descending a gradient, gravity also comes into action and more time will
be required to stop the vehicle therefore, the requirement of Sight
distance will be more in this case.

1.5.1 Stopping Sight Distance (SSD)

Stopping sight distance (SSD) is the minimum sight distance available on a

highway at any spot having a sufficient length to enable the driver to stop a
vehicle traveling at design speed, safely without collision with any other
obstruction. In design consideration, the (site) safe stopping distance is one of
the important measures in traffic engineering. It is the distance of vehicle travels
from the point at which a situation is first perceived to the time of deceleration
is complete. Drivers must have adequate time if they are to suddenly respond to
a situation. The stopping sight distance is the sum of lag distance (or
Perception-reaction distance) and braking distance as shown in Figure 1.12.
These two components can be computed separately: Perception-reaction
distance (d reaction) travelled during perception-reaction time, and braking
distance (d braking) travelled after applying brakes.

24
Dr. Duraid M Abd Civil Engineering 2019

Figure 1.12: Diagrammatic representation of stopping sight distance components

 Perception-reaction distance
As defined previously, a reaction time is the interval from the instant that
the driver recognizes the potential hazard that need a stop until the instant
that the driver actually applies the brakes. Vehicle speed and roadway
environment probably also influence reaction time. Normally, a driver
traveling at or near the design speed is more alert than one traveling at a
lesser speed. A perception-reaction time of 2.5 sec. is considered
adequate for design purposes. Perception-reaction distance in meters is
calculated from the following equation.

Reaction Distance = v.t ………………………………… (1)

Where: v is speed (m/s) and t is reaction time (sec)

Reaction Distance = 0.278 V.t ……………………………. (2)

Where: V is speed (Km/h) and t is reaction time (sec)

25
Dr. Duraid M Abd Civil Engineering 2019

 Braking distance
Braking distance (DB) in meters is computed from one of the following
equations

DB= 0.039 ………………………..For flat terrain… (3)

DB= …………… For non-flat Terrain… (4)

±
.

Where V is speed in (Km/h), a is deceleration rate in (m/sec2), G is grade of

road in % and –ve and +ve signs should be used for downgrade and upgrade,
respectively.

Therefore,

SSD= 0.278 V.t + 0.039 …….For flat terrain……... (5)

SSD=0.278 V.t + . For non-flat Terrain... (6)

±
.

1.5.2 Overtaking (Passing) Sight Distance (OSD or PSD)

The overtaking sight distance is the minimum distance open to the vision of the
driver of a vehicle intending to overtake the slow vehicle ahead safely against
the traffic in the opposite direction. The overtaking sight distance or passing
sight distance is measured along the centre line of the road over which a driver
with his eye level 1.2m above the road surface can see the top of an object 1.2m
above the road surface. The factors that affect the OSD are:

26
Dr. Duraid M Abd Civil Engineering 2019

 Velocities of the overtaking vehicle, overtaken vehicle and of the vehicle

coming in the opposite direction.
 Spacing between vehicles, which in-turn depends on the speed
 Skill and reaction time of the driver
 Rate of acceleration of overtaking vehicle
 Gradient of the road.
It should be noted that passing sight distance only applies to two-lane, two-way
highways because highways with additional lanes are not constrained by the
risk posed by opposing traffic. The minimum passing sight distance for two-
lane highways is determined as the sum of the following four distances as
presented in Figure 1.13:

Figure 1.13: Passing sight distance elements

Therefore,

PSD= d1 + d2 + d3 + d4 ..……………………………………………. (7)

27
Dr. Duraid M Abd Civil Engineering 2019

Where d1 is a distance traversed during perception-reaction time and during the

initial acceleration to the point where the passing vehicle just enters the left
lane.
d1 = 0.278 t1 [V – m + (a t1 /2)]
Where: t1 is time of initial manoeuvre, s; a is average acceleration, km/h/s;) V
is average speed of passing vehicle, km/h; m is difference in speed of passed
vehicle and passing vehicle, taken as = 15 to 19 km/h.
d2 is distance travelled during the time the passing vehicle is traveling in the left
lane.
d2 = 0.278 V t2
Where: t2 is time passing vehicle occupies the left lane, in sec (9.3s to 11.3s);
and V is average speed of passing vehicle, in km/h.
d3 = distance between the passing vehicle and the opposing vehicle at the end of
the passing manoeuvre (such as, clearance distance). This distance at the end of
the passing manoeuvre is assumed to be between 30 m to 75 m
d4 is distance moved by the opposing vehicle during two thirds of the time the
passing vehicle is in the left lane (usually taken to be 2/3 d2). d4=2/3 × d2
Table 1.3: PSD as recommended by AASHTO

28
Dr. Duraid M Abd Civil Engineering 2019

1.5.2 Sight Distance at Intersection

At intersections where two or more roads meet, visibility should be provided for
the drivers approaching the intersection from either sides. They should be able
to perceive a hazard and stop the vehicle if required. Stopping sight distance for
each road can be computed from the design speed. The sight distance should be
provided such that the drivers on either side should be able to see each other.
This is illustrated in the Figure 1.14.
Design of sight distance at intersections may be used on three possible
conditions:
 Enabling approaching vehicle to change the speed
 Enabling approaching vehicle to stop
 Enabling stopped vehicle to cross a main road.

Figure 1.14: Sight distance at intersections

29
Dr. Duraid M Abd Civil Engineering 2019

Example 2: For a Two-lane, Two-way (TLTW) highway, find: a- minimum

sight distance to avoid head-on collision of two cars approaching at 90 km/h
and 60 km/h? b- For the same conditions but the road has grade of downhill 3%
(car of speed 90 km/h moves downward)? Use t =2.5 sec, a =3.5 m/sec2
a)
For first car having speed of 90Km/h

SSD= 0.278*90*2.5 + . = 152m

±
.

For first car having speed of 60Km/h

SSD= 0.278*60*2.5 + . = 81.5m

±
.

Required total distance = 152+81.5 = 233.5m

b)
For first car having speed of 90Km/h

SSD= 0.278*90*2.5 + . = 160.14m

.
.

For first car having speed of 60Km/h

SSD= 0.278*60*2.5 + . = 85.1m

.
.

Required total distance = 160.14+85.1 = 245.24m

30
Dr. Duraid M Abd Civil Engineering 2019

Example 3: A motorist traveling at 105 km/h on an expressway intends to leave

the expressway using an exit ramp with a maximum speed of 55 km/h. At what
point on the expressway should the motorist step on his brakes in order to
reduce his speed to the maximum allowable on the ramp just before entering the
ramp, if this section of the expressway has a downgrade of 3%? Use
deceleration rate value as 3.4 m/sec2

DB=
±
.

DB= . =99.5m
.
.

Example 3: Compute the safe passing sight distance of two lanes two-direction
highway if the speed of passing vehicle was 85 km/ h and its acceleration was
0.65 m/s2 and the clear distance between passing and opposing vehicles equal to
73meters and time of initial manoeuvre is 4 sec? use any standard values if
needed?

PSD= d1 + d2 + d3 + d4
d1 = 0.278 t1 [V – m + (a t1 /2)]
d1 = 0.278 × 4 [85 – 16 + (0.65×3.6× 4/2)] =81.93=82m
d2 = 0.278×V× t2 to find d2 assume t2 as 10 seconds
d2 = 0.278×85× 10=236.3m
d3 =73m
d4= 2/3 × d2 =2/3 ×236.3=157.54m
PSD=82 + 236.3 + 73 + 157.54=548.84=549m

31
Dr. Duraid M Abd Civil Engineering 2019

Questions:
1- Find head light sight distance and intermediate sight distance for a
vehicle having a speed of 65 Km/h (Hint: a=3.5 m/sec2). Assume any
standard value you would require.
2- Overtaking and overtaken vehicles are at 70 and 40 km/h respectively.
Find PSD. (Hint: a=0.99 m/sec2) Assume any standard value you would
require.

32