Traffic Engineering

(CENG …)
MSc: Road and Transport Engineering

Dr.-Ing. Alamirew M. Tola

Assistant Professor September 2023
 CHAPTER 1
Traffic Engineering: Basics 1

▪ Introduction
▪ Traffic Flow Theory is a Complex Matter
▪ Types of Traffic Facilities
▪ Traffic Stream Parameters
▪ Flow (q), Speed (u) and Density (k)
▪ Traffic Flow Fundamentals
▪ Capacity
▪ Level of Service (LOS)
 Introduction 2

Traffic Engineering

• is that phase of transportation engineering which deals with

the planning, geometric design, and traffic operations of roads,

streets, and highways, their networks, terminals, abutting lands,

and relationships with other modes of transportation.

Objectives of traffic engineering Introduction
3

• Safety – primary objective

• Speed – limited by technology, human characteristics and safety

• Comfort – physical characteristics of vehicles and roadways

• Convenience – ease with which trips are made

• Economy – provide the best possible system for the money.

“cheap”

• Environmental compatibility – minimize impacts

Elements of traffic engineering Introduction
4

• Traffic studies and characteristics – data collection and analysis to

characterize traffic (volume, speed, delay, etc)
• Performance evaluation – rating operating characteristics of
facilities (level of service)

• Facility design – functional and geometric design of highways and

other traffic facilities

• Traffic control – establishment of traffic regulations and their

communication to drivers through control devices such as signals,
markings, etc.
Elements of traffic engineering…Cont’d Introduction
5

• Traffic operations – measures that influence overall operation of

traffic facilities, such as one-way street systems, transit operations,
etc.

• Transportation systems management – all aspects of traffic eng.

focusing on optimizing system capacity and operations.

• Integration of ITS technologies – application of modern

telecommunications technology to the operation and control of
transportation systems
 Traffic flow theory is a complex matter 6

❑Cooperation between:
• Vehicle
• Road Driver
• Driver

❑Every vehicle is controlled by a driver who

makes individual choices how to control the
vehicle

❑The driver is the main reason why traffic

flow is such a complex matter
 Two types of traffic facilities 7

1. Uninterrupted flow
• Freeways where there are no intersections at grade, no STOP &
YIELD signs, etc.

• Some rural highways

2. Interrupted flow
• Incorporate fixed external interruptions such as traffic signals,
STOP & YIELD signs, etc
 Traffic Stream Parameters 8

I. Macroscopic – describe the traffic stream as a whole

• Volume or rate of flow
• Speed
• Density (concentration)

II. Microscopic – describe behavior of individual vehicle or pairs of

vehicles in a stream
• Speed of individual vehicles
• Headway
• Spacing
 Traffic flow (q)
9

• Traffic flow (q) is defined as the number of vehicles per time unit

N
q=
T
(where N is the number of vehicles and T is the time period)

• Unit is often vehicle per hour (veh/hour), but other units are also
possible (veh/day, veh/minute, etc)

• The number of vehicles during a short period is often called traffic

intensity or flow rate instead of flow or volume
 Traffic flow (q)
10

❑ On a two-lane road we consider:

• total traffic in both directions
o directional distribution (e.g 60/40)
❑ On multilane roads:
• each direction is considered individually
❑ At a junction:
• traffic volume is defined as the total number of vehicles which
enter the junction
• if the vehicles leaving the junction were included, all the
vehicles would have been counted twice
 Heavy vehicles and passenger car units (pcu)
11

❑ The proportion of heavy vehicles is calculated as a percentage of the total traffic

❑ However, automatic classifying systems are usually using vehicle length instead
of vehicle weight (it is easier to measure length than weight of moving vehicles)
❑ Heavy vehicles and passenger cars have very different characteristics
❑ For evaluation of traffic flow, the traffic volume should be converted from
vehicles (veh) to passenger car units (pcu)
❑ Equivalent factors are used for each vehicle type, 1 passenger car = 1.0 pcu
1 motorcycle = 0.5 pcu
for example: 1 bus = 2.0 pcu
1 lorry = 2.5 pcu
1 lorry with trailer = 3.0 pcu
Daily Volume Parameters
12

➢ Establish trends over time & used for general planning purposes
▪ Average annual daily traffic (AADT) – number of vehicles in a
year divided by 365
▪ Average annual weekday traffic (AAWT) – number of vehicles
on weekdays in a year divided by number of weekdays (260)
▪ Average daily traffic (ADT) – average 24-hr volume over a
defined time period less than a year (commonly for each
month)
▪ Average weekday traffic (AWT) – the average 24-hr weekday
volume over a defined time period less than one year
(commonly for each month)
Daily Volume Parameters: Example
13
 Hourly Volume
14

❑ Used: For design and operational purposes

❑ Period of maximum flow during “rush hours”
❑ Peak hour – single hour of the day with the highest hourly volume
✓ Generally stated as directional volume (each direction separately)
✓ Highways and controls are designed for peak hour for each direction of flow
❑ In design, peak-hour volumes are sometimes estimated from projections of
the AADT
❑ Directional Design Hour Volume (DDHV)
DDHV = AADT * K * D
where; K: proportion of daily traffic occurring during the peak hour
D: proportion of peak hour traffic traveling in the peak direction of flow
Hourly Volume
15

❑ For design, k-factor often represents the proportion of AADT

occurring during the 30th peak hour of the year

General Ranges for K and D factors

Traffic variation
16

❑ Traffic variation might be explained by the purpose of the trip,

for example:
✓ Travel to/from work
✓ Deliver goods
✓ Shopping
✓ Visit friends
✓ Holiday trips
❑ On a specific road there is a mixture of different trip purposes
❑ For practical use, traffic variation is usually connected to
different road types with specific characteristics
 Speed (u)
17

❑ Speed might be defined as the relationship between distance

and time when an object is moving
❑ The unit for speed is kilometers per hour (km/h) or meters
per second (m/s)
u [km/hr] = u [m/s] * 3.6
u [m/s] = u [km/t] / 3.6
(1 hour = 3600 seconds and 1 km = 1000 m)
❑ When describing traffic stream, two types of speed are used:
▪ Time Mean Speed (Spot Speed)
▪ Space Mean Speed (Section Speed and Travel Time)
Time Mean Speed (Spot Speed)
18

❑ Spot speed is measured at a point (short distance)

❑ Often measured by inductive loops or a radar
❑ Average point speed is calculated by adding all the individual speeds
and divide by the number of vehicles
Let ui – speed of vehicle i, in kilometers per hour, ti – time it takes for vehicle i
to traverse the trap length, in seconds and Δx – trap length, in meters
x
Then,
ui =  3.6
ti
n
Knowing the individual speeds of n u i
vehicles observed within time T, the
TMS of the traffic stream is given by:
ut = i =1
n
Space Mean Speed (Section Speed and Travel Time)
19

❑ Section speed is measured over a longer distance

❑ Section speed for a specific vehicle is found by

measuring the time (t) used to drive a certain distance
(L)

V = L/t (speed = distance / time)

❑ Please note that average section speed (Vs) should be

based on the individual travel times for each vehicle:

tavg = (t1+t2+…+tn)/n & Vs = L / tavg

 Time Headway (TH)
20

❑ Time headway is the time interval between vehicles in seconds

❑ This headway is measured as the time distance between front of one
vehicle to front of the next vehicle
❑ There is a relation between Average Time Headway (ATH) and Traffic
flow (q):
ATH = 3600 / q OR q = 3600 / ATH
(1 hour = 60*60 = 3600 seconds)
Example:
q = 600 veh/h ---> ATH = 3600/600 = 6 seconds
ATH = 3 seconds ---> q = 3600/3 = 1200 veh/h
 Concentration or Density (k)
21

❑ Density (k) is defined as the number of vehicles on a specific length

of the road
n
k= The unit is usually veh/km
L
❑ Density is also called concentration

❑ It is difficult to measure density directly (Uses aerial photos)

 Distance Headway (DH)
22

❑ Distance headway is the distance in meters between vehicles

❑ This distance is measured between front of one vehicle to front of the next
vehicle
❑ To find the real (physical) gap between vehicles you should also take into
account the length of vehicles
❑ There is a relation between Average Distance Headway (ADH) and
density (k):
ADH = 1000/k or k = 1000/ADH
ADH where 1 km = 1000 meters
 Flow (q), Speed (u) and Density (k) 23

❑ Dimensional analysis of the units:

Flow (veh/hr) is simply the
product of Density (veh/km) and
space mean speed (km/hr)

• Flow = Concentration * Speed

q=k*u
u =q /k
k =q /u
Density vs Space Mean Speed
24
Flow vs Density
25
Flow vs Space Mean Speed
26
Traffic Flow Fundamentals
27
 Capacity 28

❑ Capacity defined as: The maximum sustainable flow rate at

which vehicles can be expected to reasonably traverse a point (or
uniform segment of a lane or roadway) during a specified time
period under given roadway geometric, traffic, environmental and
control conditions
❑ Expressed as vehicles per hour, passenger cars per hour, or persons
per hour.
❑ Capacity is a dynamic (and not a constant) parameter
 Capacity 29

❑ If traffic demand exceeds capacity, we will (of course) get an

overloaded traffic system with long queues and delays

❑ But even if traffic volume is well below capacity, there will be

conflicts between vehicles

❑ These conflicts lead to temporary queues and delays, and the

drivers interpret this as a reduced quality of traffic flow
“Freedom to maneuver” and quality of traffic flow
30

❑ You will have large freedom to maneuver and excellent quality of

traffic flow if …
▪ You are able to decide your own speed
▪ You are not influenced by other vehicles
▪ There is no problem to overtake other vehicles

❑ You have a limited freedom to maneuver and poor quality of traffic

flow if ….
▪ You have no possibility to decide your own speed
▪ You are driving in a slow moving queue
▪ Due to heavy traffic it is difficult to overtake other vehicles
 Level of service (LOS) 31

❑ LOS – is a qualitative description of how a certain facility is performing

❑ HCM defines 6 different levels to describe quality of traffic flow

v/c
Level of service (LOS) 32
Level of service (LOS) 33
THANK YOU!
Do you have any questions?

[email protected]

[email protected]