Traffic

Engineering
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

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Traffic Engineering
 Elements of Traffic Engineering:

 Traffic Characteristics

 Traffic Studies and analysis

 Traffic control devises and operations.

Traffic Characteristics

Traffic Characteristics

Road User Characteristics: Vehicular

Characteristics
 Physical Characteristics
 Mental Characteristics
 Psychological Charac-
teristics Dynamic
Static Characteristics:
 Environmental Charac- Characteristics:
teristics  Speed
 Weight
 Acceleration
 Dimensions
 Braking

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Recommended limiting
Characteristics Consideration
Dimension
Maximum Width Lane width consideration

Maximum Height Bridge or cable clearance

consideration
Maximum Length Turning radius consideration

Maximum Weight Thickness of pavement and

gradient consideration

 Sharper vision is concentrated in a cone of vision forming 3O of solid angle at the

centre of retina. This zone is called zone of acute vision. Vision is still satisfactory
when angle of cone is up to 10O or12O.

 Peripheral vision deals with total visual field for the two eyes. Angle of pe-
ripheral vision is160O in horizontal plane and is roughly in 115O vertical direction.
Within this zone, eyes of a normal person are able to see the objects but without
clear details and colour. Angle of peripheral vision falls with increase in speed
which emphasises the need of travelling at same speed.

 Braking test for Skid Resistance: For this test at least two of the given three
data is required:

1. Braking Distance (Length of Skid marks)

2. Initial Speed

3. Actual duration of application of brakes (Braking time)

Traffic Studies and Analysis

Various studies carried out on Traffic:

1. Traffic Volume Study

2. Speed Studies:

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1. Spot speed study

2. Speed and delay study

3. Origin and Destination (O & D)study

4. Traffic Flow Characteristics

5. Traffic Capacity study

6. Parking study

7. Accident study

 Methods to conduct Traffic Studies:

Manual Method: In this method a set of volunteers are employed to observe

the traffic round the clock for a given period of time. In this process the
volunteers here observe and note the number and type of vehicles passing on
the road at a given point. Although this is most precise method but is also a
laborious method as the observations are required to be made 24 hours a day
for few days and hence is almost obsolete.

 Mechanical Method:

1. Radar Detection method

2. Magnetic detection method

3. Pneumatic hose method (counts number of axles and not number of

vehicles)

Traffic Volume Study

Representation of Traffic volume data:

 Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT):

It helps in deciding the importance and phasing of the road.

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 Trend Charts: It is the graph of traffic volume against time (in year) with due
consideration to data of last 5 to 10 years. It helps in future expansion and
prediction of future traffic.

 Variation Charts:

i. Seasonal Variation

ii. Monthly Variation

iii. Daily Variation

iv. Hourly Variation

It helps in deciding the extra facilities to be provided for the peak volume time.

 Volume Flow Diagram: It is used for design of intersections.

 Design Hourly Volume: It is also known as 30th highest hourly volume. It is that
hourly volume which will be exceeded only 29 times in a year and all other traffic
volume will be lesser than this volume. Signals are designed for this value of
traffic volume only. Design hourly volume is 8% to 10% of AADT.

Traffic Speed Study

Important terms:

 Travel Time: It is the reciprocal of speed and is a simple measure of how a

road network is operating.

 Spot Speed: It is the instantaneous speed of a vehicle at a particular section.

 Average Speed: It is the average of spot speed of all the vehicles passing a
given section on the highway.

 Space Mean Speed: It represents the average speed of vehicles in certain

road length at any time. This is obtained by observing travel time of vehicles over
a decently long stretch of road. It is given by:

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Here, Space mean speed of vehicles on the road stretch in m/s

Number of individual vehicles observed

Length of the road stretch under observation in meter

Time taken by vehicle in crossing the stretch in seconds

Space Mean Speed of vehicles on the road stretch in km/hour

 Time Mean Speed represents speed distribution of vehicles at a point on

the roadway. It is the average of instantaneous speeds of observed vehicles at
the spot.

Here, Time mean speed of vehicles at the given section in m/s

Time mean speed of vehicles at the given section in km/hour

Number of vehicles observed at that section

 Time Mean Speed is arithmetic mean of spot speed whereas Space Mean
Speed is harmonic mean of spot speed hence we can deduce that:

If all the vehicles are moving at same speed.

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 Running Speed:

 Overall Speed/ Travel Speed/ Journey Speed:

Spot Speed Study

Methods of Spot Speed Study:

 Enoscope or mirror box method

 Elevated observation method

 Photographic Method

 RADAR speed method

 RADAR speed method is the most efficient method. It works on the principle of
Doppler’s Effect. Speed of the vehicle is measured by observing the wavelength
of the reflected waves from the vehicle.

 Spot Speed study isn’t conducted when traffic volume is less than 500 to 100
vehicle per hour.

Representing Spot Speed Study Data:

 Cumulative Speed Distribution Curve:

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 98th Percentile Speed: Taken as design speed of highway for all geometric
consideration.

 85th Percentile Speed: It is the upper safe speed on a highway. Speed limit
indicators are shows this value on it.

 50th Percentile Speed: Median speed of the vehicles.

 15th Percentile Speed: It is the lower safe limit of speed on the given road.
Roads with speed lower than this speed may cause congestion and delay.

 Modal Speed: Speed at which maximum number of vehicles are moving.

 Frequency Distribution Curve in Spot Speed Study: This curve follows

Normal distribution:

Speed and Delay Study

 This study is used to find travel time and spot of congestion. Methods of Speed
and delay Study:

 Floating car or riding check method.

 Licence plate or vehicle number method.

 Interview Technique.

 Photographic Method.

 Floating Car and Riding Check method: This method is generally applied on two-
way highway. A test vehicle is driven over the course of travel at approximately
average speed of traffic stream. With a number of test runs, a group of observers
sited in car record various details:

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1. First Observer is sited in the floating vehicle with stop watches. One of the
stop watch is used to record time at various control points like intersections
whereas the other one is used to find the duration of individual delay.

2. Second Observer records the time, location and cause of these delay using
a voice recording equipment.

3. Third Observer records the number of vehicle overtaking the test vehicle in
each trip.

4. Fourth Observer records the number of vehicles travelling from opposite

direction.

Here, Average journey time for all vehicles in traffic stream in direction of
flow in minute.

Average journey time when the vehicle is travelling with the stream q
in minute.

Average of difference between numbers of vehicles overtaking test

vehicle and number of vehicle overtook the test vehicle.

Flow of vehicle (volume per minute) in one direction of stream of ve-

hicles.

Average number of vehicles counted in direction opposite to the

direction of q.

Average journey time when vehicle is travelling opposite to the flow

of the stream.

Average journey time when vehicle is travelling with stream q.

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Origin and Destination Study

 This study becomes essential in planning new highway facilities or improving
existing road system. It is used in planning Mass Rapid Transit Systems.

 Methods of O&D Study:

 Licence plate method

 Road side interview method

 Home interview method

 Tag on car method

 Post-card method

Desire Line are the straight lines plotted in a map connecting origin and destination.
Width of the desire line is directly proportional to number of trip in both direction as
shown in example:

Accident Study
 Modes in which accident can take place:

1. Moving vehicle colliding with parked vehicle.

2. Two moving vehicle colliding with each other.

3. Moving vehicle colliding with an object.

4. Head on collision.

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 Moving Vehicle colliding with parked vehicle:

Before Collision:

At Collision:

After Collision:

Using above three equations analysis of the accident can be carried out.

 Two vehicles moving towards crossing collide at intersection:

Before Collision:

At Collision: Along East-West axis:

Along North-South axis:

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After Collision:

Relationship between Traffic Volume,

Density and Speed
 Traffic Volume: It is the number of vehicle crossing a section of road per unit time
for any selected period. It is usually denoted with q (vehicle/hour).

 Traffic Density: It is the number of vehicle occupying unit length of a lane of

roadway at a given instance. It is denoted with k (vehicle/km).

Greenshield’s model for relationship between

Volume, Density and Speed

Here, Speed of traffic flow at a given density k .

Mean free speed or speed of the vehicle when the highway is

empty

Jam density or density when congestion or road has halted traffic

movement.

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At any given point of time, traffic volume q will be given by:

Now if maximum traffic volume is given by then it will be given by optimising den-
sity and velocity simultaneously:

Time Headway
 Time Headway is defined as the time interval between successive vehicles
moving in the same lane as they pass a particular section.

Relationship between Time Headway and Space Headway:

As the speed increases, space headway increases but

time headway first decreases then increases after
achieving an optimum value.

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Case 1 -Probability Distribution of Time Headway:

 Probability of arrival in case of Low Traffic Volume of vehicle in time inter-

val between ‘a’ and ‘b’ will depend on given factors:

 Headway follow a random process as there is no interaction between the

arrivals of two vehicles.

 The arrival of one vehicle is independent of the arrival of other vehicle.

 The minimum headway is governed by the safety criteria.

A negative exponential distribution can be used to model such flow.

Here, Mean vehicle arrival rate per second.

Traffic volume in vehicle per hour.

Case 2 -Intermediate Traffic Volume:

 Some vehicle travel independently and some vehicle has interaction with
other vehicles.

 More difficult to analyse, however, has more application in the field.

 Pearson Type III Distribution can be used which is a very general case of
negative exponential distribution.

Case 3 -High Traffic Volume:

 The flow is very high and is near to the capacity.

 There is very high interaction between the vehicles.

 This is characterized by near constant headway.

 The mean and variance of the headway is very low.

A Normal distribution or Poisson’s distribution can used to model such flow.

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Here, Probability of arrival of vehicles in time interval t.

Traffic Capacity

 It is the ability of roadway to accommodate traffic volume. It is expressed as num-

ber of vehicles in a lane or a road that can pass a given point in unit time meas-
ured in number of vehicle/hour/lane.

 Traffic Volume (which has same unit as that of Traffic Capacity) represents
the actual rate of flow and responds to variation in traffic demand while capacity
indicates capability or maximum rate of flow with certain level of service charac-
teristics that can be carried out on highway.

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Types of Traffic Capacities:

 Basic Capacity or Theoretical Capacity: It is the capacity of the given road

in most ideal condition i.e. for maximum traffic volume that is possible on a road.

 Basic Capacity based on Space Headway:

Here, Desired Speed of vehicle in km/h

Space Headway in meter.

Here, Speed of vehicles in m/s.

Length of vehicle in meter.

Basic Capacity based on Time Headway:

Here, Minimum time headway in second.

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 Possible Capacity: It is the maximum number of vehicles that can pass a

given point on a lane or roadway during one hour under prevailing conditions.

 Practical Capacity or Design Capacity: It is the maximum number of vehi-

cles that can pass a given section on a roadway during one hour without traffic
density being so high as not to cause any delay or restriction to the driver to move
under prevailing roadway and traffic condition.

Relationship between Speed and Capacity:

 Passenger Car Unit (PCU): It may be considered as the measure of relative

space requirement of a vehicle compared to a passenger car. It allows to convert
different vehicle classes in a mixed traffic condition to a passenger car.

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Vehicle Auto Rickshaw and Cycle Bus or

Scooter Car Rickshaw Truck
Type

PCU value

Vehicle Horse Drawn

Vehicle Small Bullock Cart Large Bullock Cart
Type

PCU value

Traffic Control Device: Traffic Signs and

Signal Design
Traffic Control Devices

Signals Signs Road Makings Intersections

Traffic Signals
Important Terms

 Cycle Length: It is the time in seconds required to complete one full cycle
of indicators. It indicates the time interval from start of one green signal to start
of next green signal.

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 Interval: It indicates change from one state to another. Types of inter-

val:

 Change Time: It is also called Yellow Time. It indicates interval

between green signal and red signal.

 Clearance Interval: It is also called All Red. It is included after

each yellow interval, indicating a period during which all signals show
red and it is used for clearing vehicles at the intersection. Sometimes
initial amber is provided for getting the vehicles set to go. Vehicles
aren’t allowed to move during this period. This is also called Red Am-
ber. Yellow time is provided after green time for movement. Main
purpose of it is to warn the driver approaching the intersection during
the end of green time about coming red signal.

 Green Interval: It is the actual duration for which green light of

traffic is turned on.

 Phase: It is the pert of cycle time which is allocated to any traffic

movement receiving right of way:

 Hence during green time, non-conflicting movements are assigned in to

each phase. It allows a set of movement to flow and safely halts the flow be-
fore phase of another set of movements start.

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Types of Signals based on phase:

 2 Phase System 1: When straight and turning traffic do not share the same
lane then phase can be provided as per given figure:

 2 Phase System 2: When there is only turning traffic and not significant
amount of straight traffic given phase system can be used:

 4 Phase System 1: When straight and turning traffic share same lane, then
the phase can be provided as shown in figure:

 4 Phase System 2: Four phase signal may also be provided when straight
traffic and turning traffic both are significant as shown in figure:

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 Lost Time: It indicates the time during which the intersection effectively uti-
lized for any movement. Time is lost at beginning and termination of green phase.

Further,

 Effective Green Time:

Green Ration:

Here, Cycle Length

Traffic-Volume Capacity:

Here, Saturation Flow

Design Principle of Signals

 Considering two-phase signal without right turning movement: Considering
one of the phase in cycle (say phase A):

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 Red Time: Red time is governed by Green time and amber time provided for
the other phase. For phase A:

Similarly, for phase B:

 Green Time: Green time is calculated on the basis of traffic volume of each
road.

 Amber Time: Amber time is calculated on the basis location and length of
zone of dilemma.

Zone of Dilemma: it is a section of road near a controlled intersection in

which on applying the brakes by seeing yellow light in signal to dead stop the
vehicle results the vehicle in stopping at the intersection itself and may also
cause conflict with vehicle from other direction. Further on trying to move at
constant speed on seeing the yellow light in signal may also cause vehicle to
be at the intersection when the traffic from other direction starts moving which
may also cause conflict.

Following three cases may arise for a vehicle approaching the intersection at the
start of amber period:

Case 1 - Amber Period starts when vehicle is beyond zone of dilemma:

In such case the road length available between the vehicle and the inter-
section is greater than Stopping Sight Distance and hence on applying the
brakes on seeing yellow light, vehicle will stop before the intersection.

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In such case, minimum Amber Period required for road B will be given by:

Here, 85th speed or upper safe speed of the highway in m/s.

Rate of deceleration after applying brakes.

Case 2 - Amber period starts when vehicle is within zone of dilemma: In such
case amber length should be such that vehicle should be able to cross the inter-
section on moving at constant speed.

In such case, Amber Period for road B will be given by:

Here, Width of road A

Length of the vehicle

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Case 3 - Amber period starts when the vehicle has crossed zone of dilemma but not
the intersection: In such case, vehicle on either moving or braking easily crosses
the intersection and hence it doesn’t affects the amber period.

Determination of Cycle Length and Critical Lane

Volume

 During any green signal phase, several lanes on one or more approaches are
permitted to move. One of these approaches will have most intense traffic, thus it
will require more time than any other lane moving at the same time. If sufficient
time is allocated for this lane, then all other lanes will also be accommodated and
probability of jam will get reduced. Volume of this lane called Critical Lane Vol-
ume.

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Here, Critical Lane Volume for road A will be given by:

And for road B:

If start up lost time for phase in a signal is then start up lost time for
whole cycle will be given by:

Here, Total number of phases in the cycle.

 Generally, lost time in each phase use to be equal and hence total lost time is giv-
en by:

 Total number of cycle lengths in an hour:

Here, Cycle length in second.

 Total start up lost time in each hour:

 Time remained for movement of traffic:

 Sum of critical lane volume:

Here, Time Headway or Saturation Headway. Further,

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Here, Saturation flow of the lane

Here, time headway is assumed to be constant always

Critical Lane volume for lane and

Saturation Flow of lane.

 In the above formula, it is assumed that vehicle movement is uniform. If move-

ment is non-uniform then,

Here, Peak Hour Factor: Peak hour factor of time mi-

nute is the ratio of average hourly volume of flow in minute of an
hour wrt the flow rate in the busiest minute of that hour.

Here, Average hourly traffic flow rate.

Average volume during busiest minute period of that hour.

Generally PHF is given for 15 minute period and hence when not given otherwise
PHF refers to 15 minute PHF:

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Range for 1.0 to 0.25

Normally lies between 0.7 and 0.98.

Design of Signals
Various methods of designing the Signal System:

 Trial Cycle Method: In this method time is calculated on the basis of traffic
volume:

1. Assume a suitable value of Cycle length (C) between 40 second and 60

second.

2. Evaluate green signal time for both lane using assumed cycle length and
further evaluate final cycle length using new data.

3. If evaluated cycle length isn’t equal to assumed cycle length, revaluate the
data using new length. Choice of cycle length should preferably be in the
multiple of 5 second.

 Approximate Method: This method is based on time required for the

pedestrian to cross the road and traffic volume.

 Time taken by the pedestrian to cross the road A:

Here, Width of road A in m.

Assumed speed of pedestrian in m/s.

 Minimum time taken by the pedestrian to cross road A or minimum green

time for pedestrian to cross road A will be given by:

Here, if pedestrian signal is installed and

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if pedestrian signal isn’t installed.

Similarly for road B:

 Now ratio of green time for vehicles:

Here, Number of vehicle per hour in road A (Traffic volume in A)

Number of vehicle per hour in road B (Traffic volume in B).

 Cycle Length:

 Do not walk time for pedestrian while crossing road A:

Similarly, do not walk time for pedestrian while crossing road B:

 Webster’s Method: As per this method, cycle length is given by:

Here, Total lost time per cycle length:

Here, Number of phase per cycle

Start-up Lost Time (assumed 2 second normally)

All red time for pedestrian to cross the road or all red time for all phase

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Here, Sum of ratios of normal flow rate vs saturation flow rate

Ratio of normal flow rate wrt saturation flow rate in incoming

road at the intersection

Normal flow rate in road incoming at the intersection

Saturation flow rate in road incoming at the intersection. If

saturation flow isn’t given, it can be analysed using time
headway.

Hence, effective green time for road incoming at the intersection will be given
by:

 IRC Method:

1. Calculate cycle length using approximate method.

2. Check by using IRC method:

Here, Number of vehicles per hour for road A

Time Headway for first vehicle

Time Headway for remaining vehicles

Green time calculated using approximate method should be greater than green
time calculated using IRC method.

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 Check and design by Webster’s Method:

Here, number of phases

Road Width (m) Saturation Flow (vehicle/hour)

 If no data is given then the approximate value of saturated flow is estimated

by:

 Always take Amber time given for the movement of the vehicles for all the phases
as all red time for pedestrian crossing because pedestrian get an opportunity to
cross road during amber time.

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Traffic Signs

 Traffic Signs are classified in three major types as per Motor Vehicle Act:

1. Regulatory Signs

2. Warning Sign

3. Information Sign

Regulatory Sign/ Prohibitory Sign/ Mandatory Sign

 Regulatory Signs are meant to inform the user about any regulation or prohibition
to be followed in the given lane. Violation of these regulation is considered a legal
offense and may lead to Challan under Motor Vehicle Act 1988 (last amended in
2019).

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 All regulatory except give way sign comes in same shape i.e. circular white back-
ground with red borders.

 Give way sign is an inverted white triangle with red borders whereas stop sign is
red octagon with white borders.

Warning/ Cautionary Sign

 Warning or Cautionary Sign are used to inform the road user about certain haz-
ardous condition that may be existing on or adjacent to the roadway.

 These signs are in triangular shaped board with red borders.

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Information Sign

 These signs provide such information to road user which makes road usage more
convenient for them. This includes information about presence of restaurant or
petrol station or hospital in the vicinity and also the distance from next or im-
portant town or city.

 These signs are usually rectangular in shape:

Traffic Control Devices: Intersections

Traffic Operations
 Traffic Operations are the manoeuvring done by the road user with the vehicle
while driving on a road such that it might cause a conflict.

 Conflict Points are locations in or on the approaches to an intersection where ve-

hicles paths merge, diverge, or cross. These are the location of potential conflict
between vehicles.

 Hence the purpose to design a controlled intersection is to reduce the number of

conflict points and hence subsequently reduce the probability of accident.

 Types of traffic operation which can be carried out are as follows:

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 When an intersection is uncontrolled number of conflict points for various

conditions are as follows:

Number of Lanes Road 1 Road 2 Road 3

A B A: 2-way, B: 2-way A: 2-way, B: 1-way A: 1-way, B: 1-way

 For an intersection where two 2-Lane, 2-Way road are meeting, conflict diagram
will be as follows:

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Intersection

Intersection at Grade Separated

Grade Intersection

Divisional Island Rotary Fly-Over Underpass

Intersection at Grade
 In such intersection, all roads meet more or less at same level. Traffic operations
like merging, diverging and crossing are involved in intersection at grade.

Rotary Interchange

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Here, weaving angle or turning angle

Splitting Island

Weaving Length or distance between channelizing island and splitting

island or two splitting island.

Entry Width

Exit Width

Width of weaving section

Radius of entrance curve

Radius of exit curve

 IRC recommends rotary at an intersection when minimum traffic is 500

vehicle/hour and up to maximum traffic of 3000 vehicle/hour.

 Rotary can be provided when the intersection traffic is about 50% or more of the
total traffic on intersecting roads or where the fast traffic turning right is at least
30% of total traffic.

 Shape of Rotary: Circular shape of rotary is preferred when traffic on road

in all the directions is significant and is equally important. If traffic of either road is
relatively more important than the others then in such case elliptical rotary is
preferred. Different shapes of rotary:

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In case of tangent shaped rotary, there are chances of glare and over speeding
and hence are recommended not to be used.

 Design Speed: Vehicles are forced to reduce their speed while entering
the rotary. Speed limits for entering the rotary:

 Entry, Exit and Central Island: Radius of curvature at entry, radius of

curvature at exit and radius of central island depends on:

1. Design Speed of rotary

2. Super-elevation

3. Coefficient of lateral friction.

 Entry Radius: The entry of the rotary isn’t kept straight but small curvature is
introduced which forces the driver to reduce the speed of the vehicle. Entry
radius of 20 m to 25 m is ideal for rotary on rural road and 15 m to 25 m is ideal
for rotary on urban road.

Here, Design speed of rotary in km/h

Design speed of rotary in m/s

Coefficient of lateral friction.

Super-elevation provided. As in case of rotary, suitable super-

elevation can’t be provided, hence it is assumed to be zero (actual
value of super elevation at rotary is equal to the camber of the
road).

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 Exit Radius: Exit radius of rotary should be higher than that of entry radius
so that vehicle discharge rate should remain high.

 Radius of Central Island:

 Entry and Exit width of Rotary: Entry and exit width of rotary is governed
by traffic entering and leaving the intersection and the width of approaching road.
Width of carriage way at entry and exit will be lower than width of carriage way at
approaches to enable reduction in speed. Generally:
Approach Road Width (in meter)

If nothing is given then exit width will be taken equal to entry width .
Value of entry width shall never be less than 5 m.

 Width of Weaving Section (W): Weaving section is the part of rotary road-
way in which weaving operation of traffic takes place. Width of rotary roadway
changes throughout the length but the minimum width of roadway between edge
of Central Island and adjoining kerb is its effective width and is also happen to be
the width of the weaving section.

 Length of Weaving Section: Its value determines how smoothly the traffic
can merge or diverge:

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Very large value of weaving length is also dangerous as it may encourage over
speeding in the rotary.

 Capacity of Rotary: Practical capacity of rotary is dependent on the

minimum capacity of individual weaving section and is calculated using given
formula:

Here,

Proportioning ratio:

Here, Left turning traffic moving along extreme left end

Crossing or weaving traffic towards right while entering the rotary

Crossing or weaving traffic turning towards left while leaving the

rotary

Right turning traffic moving along right extreme lane.

 To calculate proportionating ratio for corner between road B and road C traffic
considered for analysis is as shown:

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For final analysis of rotary capacity, maximum P value out of all the corners of the
rotary is considered.

Above formula for capacity of rotary is valid in certain specific conditions as

given:

Grade Separated Intersection

 In grade separated intersection, intersecting roads are at different levels thus re-
sulting in elimination of crossing manoeuvres.

 Such intersections are most efficient and superior type of intersection. Grade sep-
aration in these intersections is achieved by providing vertical levels.

TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING | Traffic Engineering PAGE 40

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 Clover Leaf Intersection:

Parking Design
 Parallel Parking: Best for road side parking.

 30˚ Parking:

TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING | Traffic Engineering PAGE 41

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 45˚ Parking:

 60˚ Parking:

 Perpendicular Parking:

TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING | Traffic Engineering PAGE 42