Department of Civil Engineering

B.E. CIVIL ENGINEERING

SEMESTER - VI

TRAFFIC ENGINEERING (18CV652)

Open Elective

MODULE - I
Traffic Planning and Characteristics: Road Characteristics -
Road user characteristics, PIEV theory, Vehicle Performance
characteristics, Fundamentals of Traffic Flow, Urban Traffic problems
in India, Integrated planning of town, country, regional and all urban
infrastructures, Sustainable approach- land use & transport and
modal integration.

Road user characteristics

Road users play an important role in studying traffic engineering. They take up
various roles like drivers, pedestrians, cycles etc and assess the conditions in their
own unique way. The physical, mental and psychological factors are the main road
user characteristics that govern the safe operation of the vehicle on the road.

Described below are the important road user characteristics studied in traffic
engineering.

The important road user characteristics are:

1. Physical Characteristics
2. Mental Characteristics
3. Psychological Characteristics
4. Environmental Characteristics
1. Physical Characteristics
Vision, hearing, strength and the reaction of the road user are the important physical
characteristics that are studied in traffic engineering.

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

Vision
The field of vision includes acute or clear vision cone, fairly clear vision cone
and peripheral

1. Acute or clear vision cone: This vision is around 3 to 10 degrees around the
line of sight.
2. Fairly clear vision cone: This vision is at 10 to 12 degrees around the line of
sight. A vision in this field can identify the color and shape.
3. Peripheral Vision: This field of vision extends up to 90 degrees to the right
and left of the center line of the pupil, as shown in figure-1. It also extends
above and below the line of sight by 60 and 70 degrees respectively. A
peripheral vision does not show stationary objects. It only detects the
movement of objects within this field.

Hearing

Hearing characteristics is more important for pedestrians and cycles compared to

drivers.

Strength

This is a less important characteristic compared to others. The lack of strength

makes it difficult to park heavy vehicles.

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

2. Mental Characteristics
The important mental characteristics of the road user include skill, intelligence,
experience, knowledge and literacy. Proper knowledge of the vehicle characteristics,
driving practices, rules of roads and traffic behavior is necessary for safe traffic
operations.

3. Psychological Factors
Psychological factors affect the reaction of the road user to traffic situations. These
reactions include anger, fear, superstition, impatience, anxiety, etc. This affects
traffic performance.

4. Environmental Factors
Atmospheric conditions, traffic facilities, the traffic stream characteristics are the
various environmental factors that govern the behavior of the road. The traffic stream
can be heavy traffic or mixed traffic which may limit the ability to overtake. Hence,
the behavior of the road user changes with the traffic streams.

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

PIEV theory:

i) Perception 2) Intellection 3) Emotion 4) Violation

1)Perception time: is time required for the sensations received by the eyes or ears of
the driver to be transmitted to the brain through the nervous system & spinal cord or
it is the time required to perceive an object or situation.

2)Intellection time : is the time require for the driver to understand the situation it is
also the time required for comparing the different thoughts.

3) Emotion time: is the time elapsed during emotional sensational and other mental
disturbance such as fear, anger or any other emotional feeling superstition etc

4) Volition time: is the time taken by the driver for the final action such as brake
application.

The PIEV Theory was Proposed To Provide a Detailed Account of Drivers Reaction
PIEV is the amount of time it takes a driver to react to a hazard. piev mean PIEV
time - perception, intellection, emotion and volition. Before we can stop an
automobile, four specific areas of activity need to happen. The total reaction time
may be split up into four components based on PIEV theory. In practice, all these

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

times are usually combined into. Full form of PIVE theory perception intellection
emotion and volition.

Vehicle Performance characteristics:

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

Fundamentals of Traffic Flow

Objectives

Understand the fundamental relationships among traffic parameters

Estimating traffic parameters using the fundamental relationship
Some Terms

Speed (u) : Rate of motion (mph)

Density (k): Rate of traffic over distance (vpm)
Volume (V): Amount of traffic (vph)
Flow (q) : Rate of traffic (vph); equivalent hourly rate

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

Urban Traffic Problems in India:

India is a country with the second largest road network in the world. Out of the total
stretch of 5.4 million km of road network, almost 97,991 km is covered by national
highways.

It is already a huge challenge for the Indian government to provide world-class

roads, due to the sheer magnitude. To add to it, India has to spend almost around
₹20,000 to ₹30,000 crore on the maintenance of roads every year. The reason
behind this is the increase in the private vehicle ownership and the overburdening of
roads in all major cities of the country.

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

For an average Indian youth owning a two-wheeler, driving on any of the major
Indian cities, is equivalent to waging a daily war. The everyday struggle and effort of
dodging traffic, pollution and rash drivers is the biggest cause of chronic stress and
many physiological problems. On an average, a person spends anywhere between
30 minutes to two hours of their day driving. Which means, in a year, it is almost 360
hours. Imagine the kind of stress and unnecessary burden the person is putting on
their body. In a country already full of numerous lifestyle-related diseases, the driving
and traffic problems is an unnecessary addition.

If India has to maintain its growth, it will require around 15,000 km of new
expressways in the coming 10-12 years. The National Highway Authority of India,
along with the local corporations, have to work really hard to achieve this target. But
this might not be possible if the citizens of the country continue to abuse the roads
and traffic rules across the nation. The government mechanism, as well as the
citizens, need to work in tandem, if India wants to see any improvement in traffic and
eventually in the lives of the citizens.

Below are some of the major traffic problems India is facing today along with some of
the possible solutions.

The Biggest Mode Of Transport In India – Roads

Even after 70 years of Indian independence, almost 90% of the passenger and
industrial transport is carried out through roads. India has yet not been able to tap
into the potential for railway and air transport, due to which there exists a huge
pressure on the Indian roads.

In such situations, it becomes difficult to maintain the quality of roads, because most
of the roads are overburdened and extremely busy throughout the year. To add to it,
India has a varied topography across the country, and the variations in weather and
climate make it extremely tough to control the quality of roads.

Bad Public Transport

Most of the Indian cities still have poor public transport systems. Except for Mumbai
and Delhi, which are relatively better, the majority of Indian citizens depend on their
private vehicles for daily transport.
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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

Even in Mumbai and Delhi, increasing population density puts a big pressure on
already existing public transport infrastructure, affecting its quality. People prefer
their own transport rather than the inconvenience of public buses or rails.

Bad Road Quality Due To Overloading

Urban roads are extremely congested due to heavy traffic caused by private
vehicles. This over-usage rapidly degrades the quality of roads, and most of the
expenditure meant for expansion of roads is spent on the maintenance. It’s a vicious
circle where bad roads cause traffic problems, and the traffic does not allow scope
for the development of new roads.

Air And Sound Pollution In Cities

The magnitude of traffic not only creates congestion problems, but also give rise to a
lot of other issues. Air pollution and sound pollution are two major issues that are
rising to alarming proportions in the recent years.

The recent Delhi pollution should be taken up as a big eye opener for the entire
country. It not only affects people who are actually driving but also people who are
staying indoors. These issues are creating huge problems for senior citizens and
children.

Solutions:

Recently, the odd-even scheme devised by the Delhi CM created a lot of buzz, but
did not seem enough, unless it is supported by other grass root level measures.
Some of the solutions which can be used are given below.

There are many innovative and interesting solutions suggested by experts,

environmentalist and architects. Some of them have also been implemented. But any
solution is expected to be successfully implemented, it will definitely require effort
and planning on a huge scale. This is especially for when we are coming up with
plans which can reach the entire country. Corruption will have to be curbed, and it
will be extremely vital that the raw material is of the highest quality are used for the
longevity and strength of the roads.

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

 Road pricing system – people should be charged based on the length of the
road and the duration for which they use the road. This will be difficult to
implement and will require huge technological investment to become possible.
 Improvement in public transport and additional schemes like BRT. The Bus
Rapid Transport is implemented in some cities like Pune, and it can be very
helpful if implemented correctly.
 People should try and use carpooling and bike pooling as much as possible.
Use of bicycles for smaller distances also improves individual health along
with reducing pollution and road congestion.
 Strict and stringent measures against traffic violators. A regulation in the traffic
rules and fines levied for breaking them.
 Metro can play a huge role in improving the traffic issues to a great extent. If
Nagpur metro becomes successful, it will pave the way for implementation in
other cities as well which can be very beneficial.
 Increase in the use of CNG and electrical vehicles and providing relief to
those who use the same.

Integrated planning of town, country, regional and all urban

infrastructures:

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

Land use & transport and modal integration:

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

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Dr.SP Mahendra
Global Academy of Technology