A traffic volume study is often referred to as a traffic flow survey or just a traffic survey.
It is
described as the technique for determining the volume of traffic flowing on the roadways at a
certain stretch at a specific time. It is quantified in terms of vehicles per minute, hours, and days.
The flow of the various vehicle classes must be translated into a common vehicle class known as
the passenger car unit in order to show the traffic flow on a route per unit time. The volume of
traffic fluctuates throughout the day. The volume of daily traffic varies depending on the day of
the week, as well as the months and seasons of the year. Traffic surveys are a means of acquiring
traffic statistics. This is a data gathering approach that may be utilised for a range of traffic
engineering applications. Traffic surveys are used for a variety of purposes, including traffic
monitoring, control and management, enforcement, forecasting, model calibration and validation,
and so on When there is too much traffic on the road, vehicles go at a slower speed. This
lengthens travel times and increases queuing. This is also referred to as a traffic gridlock.
Congestion can occur as a result of a decrease in capacity, such as accidents on the road or road
closures. Inadequate road design might also limit capacity. Congestion can also be produced by
increased traffic, such as when a large number of automobiles exit a sports venue at the same
time. Several methods are used to alleviate congestion in areas where it is common, such as
commuting in large cities. Cars may be prohibited in certain areas or at certain times, or forced to
carry passengers or pay a fee, or people may use public transportation, such as rapid transit,
which travels independently of car traffic and is not affected by traffic jams.
Congestion is not the primary issue; rather, it is a solution to our underlying mobility problem,
which is that too many people want to travel at the same times every day. Because the successful
operation of the economic and educational institutions requires that people work, go to school,
and even do errands during about the same hours so that they may connect with one another.
That fundamental criterion cannot be changed without wreaking havoc on our economy and
society.
Every major urban city in the globe has the same issue. Our project's goals include the
following:
• Observe the various types of vehicle composition.
• Investigate the traffic flow and its characteristics.
• To calculate the average daily traffic at different periods of the day.
• To ascertain the traffic dispersion's directional distribution.
• Identifying and resolving traffic flow fluctuations
Objectives of traffic volume study
Planning Objectives:
Accurate information on the quantity of traffic on the roads is critical for the design of both road
maintenance and enhancement programmes. Analysis of traffic volume networks aids in
determining/planning the need for the improvement in terms of expansion of building missing
links, by-passes, alternate roads, and so on.
Improvement Purpose:
To properly distribute a limited maintenance budget, it is required to evaluate the traffic volume
carried by a given highway section in order to estimate the worth of the road and its relative
priority. It is critical to understand traffic volume in order to optimise highway operating
conditions.
• To assess the current operational/service condition of a highway segment.
• To assess the need for traffic control equipment (warrant).
• Determining the type of improvement measure to be employed.
• To assess the efficacy of a traffic control measure.
The Goals of Dynamic Traffic Management:
• Up to current and continuous flow/congestion information is vital for optimising.
• Improving junction performance through traffic signal design
• By giving information to road users, network productivity may be increased
Other Goals:
• To assess the worth of any route or road infrastructure.
• Determining the priority for road renovation and growth and allocating funding appropriately
• Developing and designing existing and new traffic operations facilities.
• Examine traffic patterns and trends along the route.
• To carry out structural pavement design and geometric road design based on a categorised
traffic volume research.
• Volume distribution studies will be used to develop one-way streets and other regulatory
measures.
Method for volume survey
Method of manual counting
A field crew is used in this approach to record traffic volume on the mandated record sheets.
This approach can get data that mechanical counters cannot capture, such as vehicle
categorization, turning motions, and counts when the loading condition or number of people are
necessary. However, having a manual count for all 24 hours of the day is impractical. As a result,
in order to reduce the manual hours involved in talking complete counts, statically sampling
techniques must be used. First, the fluctuation of traffic volume during the hours of day and the
daily variations are observed. The traffic volume analysis is then performed manually by picking
a typical brief count period. The peak hourly traffic levels and average daily traffic volumes are
then estimated using statistical analysis .
Simple Method:
Hand tally and manual counters/enumerators are used to count data. Benefits include the ability
to collect traffic volume, vehicle categorization, and turning proportions using this approach.
Data can be utilised immediately after it is obtained.
Disadvantages: For long duration counts and high flow rates, this method is unworkable. Error
is common, especially when the volume is high. The count cannot be double-checked. In severe
weather, the count cannot be completed
