Introduction to

Traffic Engineering
Road/Traffic
• Traffic streams are made up of individual drivers
and vehicles interacting with each other and
with the physical elements of the roadway and
its general environment
• Individual vehicles/traffic streams will not
behave in exactly the same way
 Driver behavior
 Vehicle characteristics

• Variability
Two Types of Facilities
• Uninterrupted Flow
 Freeways, sections of highway in rural areas
 No at-grade intersections, traffic signals, stop/yield signs
 Distance between traffic signals and other fixed interruptions is
more than 2 miles
 Traffic stream characteristics based solely on vehicles, roadway,
and the environment

• Interrupted Flow
 With traffic signals, stop/yield signs, unsignalized at grade
intersections, curb parking maneuver, other land access operations
 More complex
Traffic Stream Parameters
• Macroscopic Parameters
 Volume or rate of flow
 Speed
 Density
• Microscopic Parameters
 Speed of individual vehicles
 Headway
 Spacing
Volume and Rate of Flow
• Two measures that quantify the amount of traffic
passing a point on a lane or roadway during a given
time interval

• Traffic volume is defined as the number of vehicles

passing a point on a highway, or a given lane or
direction of a highway, during a specified time
interval. (vehicles or vehicles per unit time)

• Rate of flow represent flows that exist for periods of

time less than one hour. (vehicles per hour)
Daily Volumes
• Used to document annual trends in highway usage
• Daily Volume Parameters: (veh/day)
 Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) – average 24-hour
volume at a given location over a full 365-day year.
 Average Annual Weekday Traffic (AAWT) – average 24-hour
volume occurring on weekdays over a full 365-day year.
 Average Daily Traffic (ADT) – average 24-hour volume at a
given location over a defined time period less than one year.
 Average Weekday Traffic (AWT) – average 24-hour weekday
volume at a given location over a defined time period less
than one year.
Daily Volumes
Hourly Volumes
• Daily volumes can not be used alone for design or
operational analysis purposes.
• Volume varies over the 24 hours of the day, with the
maximum flow occurring during the morning and evening
commuter “rush hours.”
• The single hour of the day with the highest hourly
volume is referred to as the peak hour.
 Design
 Operational analysis

• Directional Volume – each direction of flow is counted

separately
Hourly Volumes
• Highwaysand controls must be designed to
adequately serve the peak-hour traffic volume in
the peak direction of flow
Reversible Lanes
• Traffic
may travel in either direction, depending
on displayed overhead signal
• Used to improve traffic flow during rush hours
Reversible Lanes
Conversion of AADT to Peak-Hour
Volume in the Peak Direction of Flow
• 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
• For design, the K factor often represents the proportion of
AADT occurring during the 30th peak hour of the year.
Typical factors and default values
Subhourly Volumes and Rates of
Flow
• The variation of traffic within a given hour is
also of considerable interest.
•A facility may have sufficient capacity to serve
the peak-hour demand, but short-term peaks of
flow within the hour may exceed capacity and
create a breakdown.
• Volumes observed for periods of less than one
hour are generally expressed as equivalent
hourly rates of flow.
Illustration

• The full hourly volume is the sum of the four 15-minute

volume observations.
• The rate of flow for each 15-minute interval is the volume
observed for that interval divided by the 0.25 hour over which
it was observed.
• In the worst period of time, the rate of flow is 4800 veh/hr, this
is the flow rate.
Peak Hour Factor
• Therelationship between the hourly volume and
the maximum rate of flow within the hour.

• Forstandard 15-minute analysis period, this

becomes:
Illustration
Illustration

• Themaximum possible value for the PHF is 1.00

which occurs when the volume in each interval is
constant
Peak Hour Factor
• When PHF is known, it can be used to estimate a
maximum flow rate within an hour based on the
full-hour volume:

• where: v = maximum rate of flow within the hour

V = hourly volume
Speed and Travel Time
• Speed is a macroscopic parameter describing the
state of a traffic stream.
 Rate of motion in distance per unit time, kph

• Traveltime is the time taken to traverse a

defined section of roadway

• Thetraffic stream can be characterized using an

average or typical speed
Speed and Travel Time
• Speed Parameters
 Average Running Speed – Distance divided by the
average running time of vehicles (only in motion)
 Average Travel Speed – Distance divided by the average
travel time of vehicles (including all stopped delay
times)
 Free-Flow Speed (FFS) – Average speed of vehicles
measure under low-volume conditions (drivers tend to
drive at their desired speed and are not constrained by
control delay)
• Note:For uninterrupted-flow facilities not
operating at LOS F, the average travel speed is
equal to the average running speed
2 Ways of Computing Average Speed
• Time Mean Speed (TMS) –
average speed of all vehicles
passing a point on a highway or
lane over some specified time
period.

• Space Mean Speed (SMS) –

average speed of all vehicles
occupying a given section of
highway or lane over some
specified time period.
2 Ways of Computing Average Speed

• where:
d = distance traversed
n = number of observed vehicles
ti = time for vehicle “i” to traverse the section
Illustration
Illustration
Density and Occupancy
• Density is the number of vehicles occupying a given
length of highway or lane, expressed as vehicles per mile
vehicles per mile per lane.
 Influences freedom to maneuver and psychological comforts of
drivers

• Occupancy is the proportion of time that a detector is

“occupied” by a vehicle in a defined time period.
Spacing and Headway
• Spacing - the distance between successive vehicles in a
traffic lane, measured from some common reference point
on the vehicles, such as the front bumper or front wheels.
5280
𝐷=
𝑑𝑎
• where:
D = density, veh/mi/ln
da = average spacing between vehicles in the lane, ft
Spacing and Headway
• Headway – the time interval between successive
vehicles as they pass a point along the lane, also
measured between common reference points on the
vehicles.
𝑑𝑎 3600
ℎ𝑎 = ;𝑣 =
1.47 𝑆 ℎ𝑎
• where:
v = rate of flow, veh/hr/ln
ha = average headway in the lane, sec
S = speed, mi/hr
Spacing and Headway
• Average
speed can also be computed from
headway and spacing
Example
• Trafficin a congested multilane highway lane is
observed to have an average spacing of 200 ft,
and average headway of 3.8 sec. Estimate the
rate of flow, density, and speed of traffic in this
lane.
Relationships among Flow Rate,
Speed, and Density
• The three macroscopic measures of the state of a given
traffic stream are related as follows:

• where:
v = rate of flow, veh/hr or veh/h/ln
S = space mean speed, mi/hr
D = density, veh/mi or veh/mi/ln
• Equation is most often used to estimate density, which is difficult to measure
directly
Illustration

•Sand D are measures that refer to a specific

section of a lane or highway
•v is a point measure
Illustration
• Under stable flow conditions, the rate of flow
applies to any point within the section; where
unstable operation exist, the computed flow rate
represents the average for all points within the
section.
Speed, Flow Rate, Density
Relationships
• Free-flow speed
• Jam Density
• Capacity

• Except for capacity

flow, any flow rate
may exist under two
conditions:
 A condition of relatively
high speed and low
density
 A condition of relatively
low speed and high
density
Speed, Flow Rate, Density
Relationships
• Significant points:
• Zero Flow Rate
conditions
[Link] vehicles – zero
density; zero flow rate;
speed is theoretical and
selected by driver
[Link] density – zero
speed; zero flow rate;
too much vehicles,
there is no movement
Speed, Flow Rate, Density
Relationships
• Significant points:
• Maximizing Effect
 As flow increases,
density also
increases (more
vehicles on the
road), but speed
decreases
 Capacity is
reached when
D*S=max 𝑣
Speed-Flow-Density Relationships
• Various researchers have studied and have attempted to
develop mathematical models:
• Bruce Greenshields – 1930s – speed-density relationship
is linear
• Ellis – piecewise linear
• Greenberg – logarithmic curve
• Underwood – exponential model
• Edie – discontinuous using both logarithmic and
exponential
• May – bell-shaped curve
Greenshield’s Linear Speed-Density
Model
• Assume that a speed-density study has resulted
in the following calibrated relationship:
Greenshield’s Linear Speed-Density
Model
• Mathematicalmodels may also
be manipulated to determine:
 Free-flow speed
 Occurs when density is 0 veh/hr
 Jam density
 Occurs when speed is 0 mi/hr
 Capacity
 Peak of the speed-flow or flow density
curves
 First derivative of the relationship is 0
Greenshield’s Linear Speed-Density
Model
Greenshield’s Linear Speed-Density
Model
𝑆 =𝑎+𝑏𝐷

𝑦 =𝑎+𝑏𝑥

𝑎 = 𝑦ത − 𝑏𝑥ҧ

σ𝑛𝑖=1 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥ҧ 𝑦𝑖 − 𝑦ത
𝑏=
σ𝑛𝑖=1 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥ҧ 2
 Greenshield’s Linear Speed-Density
Model
𝑆 =𝑎+𝑏𝐷 𝑦 =𝑎+𝑏𝑥
D S x y 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥ҧ 𝑦𝑖 − 𝑦ത 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥ҧ 𝑦𝑖 − 𝑦ത 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥ҧ 2

171 5 171 5 73.5 -16.3 -1198.1 5402.3

129 15 129 15 31.5 -6.3 -198.5 992.3
20 40 20 40 -77.5 18.7 -1449.3 6006.3
70 25 70 25 -27.5 3.7 -101.8 756.3
390 85 -2947.7 13157.2

85 390
𝑎 = 𝑦ത + 𝑏𝑥ҧ 𝑎= − −0.2 = 40.8
4 4
σ𝑛𝑖=1 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥ҧ 𝑦𝑖 − 𝑦ത −2947.7
𝑏= 𝑏= = −0.2
σ𝑛𝑖=1 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥ҧ 2 13157.2
 Greenshield’s Linear Speed-Density
Model
𝑆 =𝑎+𝑏𝐷 𝑦 =𝑎+𝑏𝑥
D S
171 5
129 15
20 40
𝑆 = 40.8 − 0.2 𝐷
70 25

85 390
𝑎 = 𝑦ത + 𝑏𝑥ҧ 𝑎= − −0.2 = 40.8
4 4
σ𝑛𝑖=1 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥ҧ 𝑦𝑖 − 𝑦ത −2947.7
𝑏= 𝑏= = −0.2
σ𝑛𝑖=1 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥ҧ 2 13157.2
Greenshield’s Linear Speed-Density
Model
𝑓𝑓𝑠
𝑆 = 𝑓𝑓𝑠 − 𝐷
𝐷𝑗
𝑆 =𝑎−𝑏𝐷

𝑓𝑓𝑠 40.8
𝐷𝑗 = = = 204 𝑣𝑒ℎ/𝑘𝑚
𝑏 0.2
Note
• Itshould be noted that there is no consensus as
to which mathematical description best describes
an uninterrupted-flow traffic stream. Studies
suggest that the best form may vary by location
and even over time at a given location.
THE END