TRAFFIC VOLUME STUDY AT KAMALBINAYAK INTERSECTION

OBJECTIVES
1. To determine the peak hour.
2. To determine the peak hour traffic volume.
3. To understand vehicle composition during study period.

APPARATUS REQUIRED
1. Stopwatch
2. Datasheet

THEORY
The safe and time efficient movement of the people and goods is dependent on Traffic
flow, which is directly connected to the traffic characteristics, and it is governed by
traffic Engineering. The three main parameters of a traffic flow are volume, speed, and
density. For planning, designing and operation of transportation system the first and
foremost requirement is volume. Volume is simply the number of vehicles passing a
section of a roadway. Expressing traffic volume as number of vehicles passing a given
section of road or traffic lane per unit time will be inappropriate when several types of
vehicles with widely varying static and dynamic characteristics are comprised in the
traffic. The problem of measuring volume of such heterogeneous traffic has been
addressed by converting the different types of vehicles into equivalent passenger cars
and expressing the volume in terms of Passenger Car Unit (PCU) per hour.

Volume/flow:
The total number of vehicles that pass over a given point or section of a lane or roadway
during a given time interval is called volume. It is the actual number of vehicles observed
or predicted to passing a point during a given interval.

Passenger Car Unit (PCU)

Passenger Car Unit (PCU) is a metric used in Transportation Engineering, to assess traffic-
flow rate on a highway. A Passenger Car Unit is a measure of the impact that a mode of
transport has on traffic variables (such as headway, speed, density) compared to a single
standard passenger car. It is used to convert mix traffic into single unit.

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 S. N Vehicle Type Equivalence Factor
1 Two wheelers 0.5
2 Car, Auto Rickshaw, Light 1.0
Van, pickup
3 Light truck, tractor 1.5
4 Truck, bus, Mini Bus, Tractor 3.0
with trailer
5 Non- Motorized carts 6.0
Table 1 : Equivalency Factor of different vehicles as per NRS-2070

Rate of flow:
The equivalent hourly rate at which vehicles pass over a given point or section of a lane
or roadway during a time interval less than 1hr. usually 15 min.

30th highest hourly volume:

It is the hourly volume that will be exceeded only 29 times in a year and all other hourly
volume will be less than this value.

Peak Hour Volume:

The peak hour volume is the volume of traffic that uses the approach, lane, or lane
group in question during the hour of the day that observes the highest traffic volumes
for that intersection.

Peak Hour Factor:

The peak hour factor (PHF) is derived from the peak hour volume. It is simply the ratio of
the peak hour volume to four times the peak fifteen-minute volume.

Design Flow Rate:

The design flow rate or the actual flow rate, for an approach, lane, or lane group is the
peak hour volume (flow rate) for that entity divided by the peak hour factor.

Average Daily Traffic (ADT):

The average 24-hr volume at a given location over a defined time period in less than one
year. The common application is to measure an ADT for each month of the year.

Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT):

Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in
transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection.
Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a year
divided by 365 days.

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METHODS FOR VOLUME SURVEY
There are two major methods of counting vehicle for volume survey.
1. Manual Counting Method
In this method, vehicles are counted manually. There are two methods of manual
counting:
i. Direct Method
ii. Indirect Method.
2. Automatic counting method:
In this method, vehicles are counted automatically without any human
involvement. There are two techniques of automatic counting: a) Contact system
based on pneumatic, mechanical, magnetic or piezo-electric method and b)
Contactless system based on electrical/optical, ultrasound/infrared radar, micro
wave, CCTV/video image processing method etc.

i) Direct Method (Manual counting method):

Data is counted by using hand tally and manual counters/enumerators.
Advantages: By this method traffic volume as well as vehicle classification
and turning proportions can be obtained. Data can be used immediately
after collection.
Disadvantages: This method is not practicable for long duration count and
when flow is high.
Error is common especially when volume is high. Count cannot be cross
checked. Count cannot be done in bad weather.

ii) Indirect Method:

In this method, data is collected using video camera. Video is captured for
long time and data is collected later by rewinding.
Advantages: Besides traffic volume, several traffic parameters can be
obtained from recorded film. Data can be cross checked and quality can
be ensured. This method is applicable when volume is high. It is suitable
for non-lane-based traffic operation.
Disadvantages: A suitable elevated place is required for filming operation.
Data cannot be used immediately after collection. Data must be manually
transcript of recorded film. This process is time consuming and tedious.
Because of limitation of capacity of film, it is not suitable for long duration
counts. Quality of video recorded on film is dependent on intensity of
light and this method is not suitable in overcast day.

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OBSERVATION AND CALCULATIONS:
N-NAGARKOT C-CHYAMASINGH B-BYASI
Table 2: Volume count in all directions

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Figure 1: Traffic volume of Wednesday (Morning)

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 Table 5: Traffic Composition during peak hour (Morning)

Vehicles PCU Number in Peak Hour (9:15-10:15)

Motorbike (0.5) 1200.5

Car/Jeep/ Van (1) 422

Light (Mini) Truck, Tractor, Rickshaw

211.5
(1.5)
Truck, Bus, Minibus, Tractor with
417
trailer (3)

PCU Number in Peak Hour (9:15-10:15)

19%

9%
53%

19%

Motorbike (0.5) Car/Jeep/ Van (1)

Light (Mini) Truck, Tractor, Rickshaw (1.5) Truck, Bus, Minibus, Tractor with trailer (3)

Table 6: Traffic Composition during peak hour (Evening)

Vehicles PCU Number in Peak Hour (4:00-5:00)

Motorbike (0.5) 1079.5

Car/Jeep/ Van (1) 550

Light (Mini) Truck, Tractor, Rickshaw

136.5
(1.5)
Truck, Bus, Minibus, Tractor with
321
trailer (3)

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RESULT
The traffic volume study was completed in Kamalbinayak Intersection and peak hour was
obtained to be 9:15 to 10:15 am in morning and 4:00 to 5:00 pm in evening.

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION:

The traffic volume study was conducted manually at the Kamalbinayak Intersection during
peak hours in the morning and evening.
The objective was to determine the peak hour traffic flow, which reached 2230 Passenger
Car Units (PCU) in the morning and 2087 PCU in the evening. Intersection design is based on
specific capacity, but there's a possibility of traffic intensity exceeding the design limit,
leading to congestion and delays. Typically, the 30th average annual daily traffic data is used
for traffic design work.
To calculate the peak hour volume, traffic counts were taken every 15 minutes, and the
maximum sum of four consecutive readings was used. This value is crucial for road
construction design and increasing road capacity. The obtained data can be further
converted to Average Daily Traffic (ADT) and Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) using
appropriate factors.

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Though efforts were made to minimize errors, there were some challenges during the traffic
count, notably missing some vehicles due to high traffic intensity. Reducing these errors is
essential for accurate and efficient results in determining the intersection's traffic capacity.

PRECAUTIONS:

1. Safety measures must be adopted while surveying to prevent any accidents.

2. There should be proper coordination between flagger, time keeper and recorder.
3. Vehicles of various type and various PCU must be considered.
4. Proper site must be selected which should be free from any geometric features of
road.

REFERENCES:
https://altafrehman.weebly.com/uploads/9/7/9/7/97973756/traffic_volume_studies03.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368356866_TRAFFIC_VOLUME_STUDY_AND_SUI
TABLE_SOLUTION_FOR_HIGHWAY_INTERSECTION_AT_TECHNICAL_-JUNCTION_

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