UNIT 3

TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
TRAFFIC REGULATION AND MANAGEMENT
INTRODUCTION
 Traffic engineering is that branch of engineering which deals with the improvement of
traffic performance of road networks and terminals. This is achieved by systematic
traffic studies.
 The method includes planning and geometric design on one hand and regulation and
control on the other hand.
 Traffic engineering therefore deals with the application of scientific principles, tools,
techniques and finding for safe, rapid, convenient and economic movement of people
and goods.
 The road traffic is composed of various categories of vehicular traffic and the
pedestrian traffic. Each category of vehicle has two components, the human element
as the driver and his machine as vehicles.

DEFINITION
 Institute of Traffic Engineers, U.S.A. defines “Traffic is that phase of engineering
which deals with planning and geometric design of streets, highways, abutting lands,
and with traffic operation thereon, as their use is related to the safe, convenient and
economic transportation of persons and goods”.
 Professor Ress Blunden of California University has proposed a modified definition,
“Traffic engineering is the science of measuring traffic and travel, the study of the
basic laws relating to traffic flow and generation and application of this knowledge to
the professional practice of planning, designing and operating traffic systems to
achieve safe and efficient movement of persons and goods”.

SCOPE OF TRAFFIC ENGINEEING

 The basic object of traffic engineering is to achieve efficient free and rapid flow of
traffic, with least number of traffic accidents.
 The study of traffic engineering may be divided into six major sections, viz.:

1. Traffic Characteristics
 Study of traffic characteristics is the most essential prerequisite for any improvement
of traffic facilities.
 The traffic characteristics are quite complex with various types of road users in the
roads moving with different motives.

2. Traffic studies and analysis

 Various studies to be carried out on the actual traffic include speed, volume, capacity,
travel pattern, origin and destination, traffic flow characteristics, parking and accident
studies.
3. Traffic operation-control and regulation
 Various aspects that are covered under traffic operations are regulations, control and
the warrants for applications of controls. Regulations may be in the form of laws and
ordinances or other traffic regulatory measures such as speed limit etc.
 Installation of traffic control devices like signs, signals and most common means to
regulate and control the traffic

4. Planning and analysis: Traffic planning is a separate phase for major highways like
express-ways, arterial roads, mass transit facilities.

5. Geometric Design: All the aspects such as cross section and surface details, sight
distance requirements, horizontal and vertical alignment, manoeuvre areas and
intersections and parking facilities are to be suitably designed for better performance.

6. Administration and management

 The various phases of traffic engineering are implemented with the help of
Engineering, Enforcement and Education or “3-Es”. Enforcement is usually made
through traffic laws, regulations and control.
 Education may be possible by sufficient publicity and through schools and television.
It aims at improving the human factor in traffic performance. Engineering phase is the
one which is constructive. It deals with improvement of road geometrics, providing
additional road facilities and installation of suitably designed traffic control devices.

BASIC PARAMETERS OF TRAFFIC FLOW

SPEED
 Speed is considered as a quality measurement of travel as the drivers and passengers
will be concerned more about the speed of the journey than the design aspects of the
traffic.
 It is defined as the rate of motion in distance per unit of time.
v=d/t
 Where, v is the speed of the vehicle in m/s, d is distance travelled in m in time t
seconds.
 Speed of different vehicles will vary with respect to time and space.

VOLUME
 Traffic Volume is defined as the number of vehicles that pass a point on a highway or
a given lane or direction of a highway during a specific time interval.
 The measurement is carried out by counting the number of vehicles, n, passing a
particular point in one lane in a defined period t.
q=n/t
 Expressed as Vehicles/hour or Vehicle/ day
  Flow is expressed in planning and design field taking a day as the measurement of
time.
 The highest traffic density will occur when the vehicles are practically at a standstill
on a given route, and in this case traffic volume will approach zero.

DENSITY
 Density is defined as the number of vehicles occupying a given length of highway or
lane and is generally expressed as vehicles per km.
 One can photograph a length of road x, count the number of vehicles, n, in one lane of
the road at that point of time and derive the density k as,
k=n/x

FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONS OF TRAFFIC FLOW

 The relationship between the fundamental variables of traffic flow, namely speed,
volume, and density is called the fundamental relations of traffic flow.
 This can be derived by a simple concept. Let there be a road with length v km, and
assume all the vehicles are moving with v km/hr.
 Let the number of vehicles counted by an observer at A for one hour is n. By
definition, the number of vehicles counted in one hour is flow (q). Therefore,
n = q ............................ (1)
 Similarly, by definition, density is the number of vehicles in unit distance. Therefore
number of vehicles n in a road stretch of distance v will be density X distance.
 Therefore n = k*v ......................... (2)
 Since all the vehicles have speed v, the number of vehicles counted in 1 hour and the
number of vehicles in the stretch of distance v will also be same. Therefore,
1=2
q = k*v

FUNDAMENTAL DIAGRAMS OF TRAFFIC FLOW

The relation between flow and density, density and speed, speed and flow, can be represented
with the help of some curves.

FLOW-DENSITY CURVE
 The flow and density varies with time and location.
 Some characteristics of an ideal flow-density relationship is listed below:
1. When the density is zero, flow will also be zero, since there are no vehicles on the
road
2. When the number of vehicles gradually increases the density as well as flow
increases.
3. When more and more vehicles are added, it reaches a situation where vehicles can't
move. This is referred to as the jam density or the maximum density. At jam density,
flow will be zero because the vehicles are not moving.
 4. There will be some density between zero density and jam density, when the flow is
maximum. The relationship is normally represented by a parabolic curve.

SPEED-DENSITY DIAGRAM
 Similar to the flow-density relationship, speed will be maximum, referred to as the
free flow speed, and when the density is maximum, the speed will be zero.
 The simplest assumption is that this variation of speed with density is linear as shown
by the solid line. Corresponding to the zero density vehicles will be owing with their
desire speed, or free flow speed. When the density is jam density, the speed of the
vehicles becomes zero.
 It is also possible to have non-linear relationships as shown by the dotted lines. These
will be discussed later.

SPEED FLOW RELATION

 The relationship between the speed and flow can be postulated as follows.
 The flow is zero either because there are no vehicles or there are too many vehicles so
that they cannot move.
 At maximum flow, the speed will be in between zero and free flow speed.
 The maximum flow q max occurs at speed u. It is possible to have two different speeds
for a given flow.
 COMBINED DIAGRAMS
 The diagrams shown in the relationship between speed-flow, speed-density, and flow-
density are called the fundamental diagrams of traffic flow.

TRAFFIC STUDIES
 Traffic studies or surveys are carried out to analyse the traffic characteristics.
 These studies help in deciding the geometric feature and traffic control for safe and
efficient traffic movements.
 The traffic surveys for collecting traffic data are also called traffic census.
 The various traffic studies generally carried out are:
i. Traffic Volume study
ii. Speed studies
(a) spot speed study
 (b) speed and delay study
iii. Origin and destination study
iv. Traffic flow characteristics
v. Traffic capacity study
vi. Parking study
vii. Accident studies or the traffic flop

TRAFFIC VOLUME STUDIES

 Traffic Volume is the number of vehicles crossing section of road per unit time at any
selected period. Traffic volume is used as a quantity measure of flow.
 The commonly used units are vehicles per day and vehicles per hour
 The objectives and uses of traffic volume studies are given below.
a. Traffic volume is generally accepted as a true measure of the relative importance
of roads and in deciding the priority for improvement and expansion.
b. Traffic volume study is used in planning, traffic operation and control of existing
facilities and also for planning and designing the new facilities.
c. This study is used in the analysis of traffic patterns and trends.
d. Classified volume study is useful in structural design of pavements, in geometric
design and in computing roadway capacity.
e. Volume distribution study is used in the design of intersections, in planning signal
timings, channelization and other control devices.
f. Turning movement study is used in the design of intersections, in planning signal
timings, channelization and other control devices.
g. Pedestrian traffic volume study is used for planning sidewalks, cross walks,
subways and pedestrian signals.
 In classified traffic volume study, the traffic is classified and the volume of each
class of traffic viz. Buses, truck, passenger-cars, other light vehicles, rickshaws,
bullock carts, cycles and pedestrians is found separately.
 The direction of each class of traffic flow is also noted. At intersections the traffic
flow in each direction of flow including turning movements are recorded.

COUNTING OF TRAFFIC VOLUME

Traffic volume counts may be done by mechanical counters or manually.

MECHANICAL COUNTERS
 These may be either fixed (permanent) type or portable type.
 The mechanical counter can automatically record the total number of vehicles
crossing a section of the road in a desired period.
 The working may be by the effect of impulses or stimuli caused by traffic movements
on a pneumatic those placed across the roadway or by using other type of sensor.
 Traffic count is recorded by electrically operated counters and recorders capable of
recording the impulses.
  The impulses caused by vehicles of light weight may not be enough in some cases to
actuate the counter. Also it is not possible to easily record pedestrian traffic by this
method.
 Other methods of working the mechanical detectors are by photo-electric cells,
magnetic detector and radar detectors.
 The main advantage of mechanical counter is that it can work throughout the day and
night for the desired period, recording the total hourly volume, which may not be
practicable in manual counting.
 The main drawback of the mechanical counter is that it is not possible to get the
traffic volumes of various classes of traffic in the stream and the details of turning
movements.

MANUALCOUNTS
 This method employs a field team to record traffic volume on the prescribed record
sheets.
 By this method it is possible to obtain data which cannot be collected by mechanical
counters, such as vehicle classification, turning movements.
 It is not practicable to have manual count for all the 24 hours of the day and on all
days round the year.
 Hence it is necessary to resort to statistical sampling techniques in order to cut down
the manual hours involved in taking complete counts, first the fluctuations of traffic
volume during the hours of the day and the daily variations are observed.
 Then by selecting typical short count periods, the traffic volume study is made by
manual counting. Then by statistical analysis the peak hourly traffic volumes as well
as the average daily traffic volumes are calculated.
 This method is very commonly adopted due to the specific advantages over other
methods.

PRESENTATION OF TRAFFIC VOLUME DATA

 The data collected during the traffic volume studies are sorted out and are presented in
any of the following forms depending upon the requirements.
(a) ANNUAL AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC (AADT OR ADT) of the total traffic as
well as classified traffic are calculated. This helps is deciding the relative importance
of a route and in phasing the road development programme. In order to convert the
different vehicle classes to one class such as passenger car, conversion factors known
as Passenger Car Units (PCU) are used.
(b) Trend Charts showing volume trends over period of years are prepared. These data
are useful for planning future expansion, design and regulation.
(c) Variation chats showing hourly, daily and seasonal variations are also prepared.
These help in deciding the facilities and regulation needed during peak traffic periods.
(d) Traffic flow maps along the routes, (the thickness of the lines representing the traffic
volume to any desired scale), are drawn. These help to find the traffic volume
distribution at a glance.
(e) Volume flow diagram at intersections either drawn to a certain scale or indicating
traffic volume as shown in figure are prepared, thus showing the details of crossing
and turning traffic. This data are needed for intersection design.
(f) Thirtieth highest hourly volume or design volume is found from the plot between
hourly volume and the number of hours in a year that the traffic volume is exceeded.
The 30th highest hourly volume that will be exceeded only 28 times in a year and all
other hourly volumes of the year will be less than this value.
 The highest or peak hourly volume of the year will be too high that it will not be
economical to design the facilities according to this volume.
 The highway facilities designed with capacity for 30th highest hourly traffic volume in
the assumed year is found to be satisfactory from both facility and economic
considerations.
 This is because the cost will be less when compared to the peak hourly volume and
hence reasonable. There will be congestion only during 29 hours in the year.
 Thus the thirtieth highest hourly volume is generally taken as the hourly volume for
design.
 However the actual design hourly volume may be decided on by drawing the diagram
as shown in figure, after carrying out traffic volume studies on the desired location of
the road.
 SPEED STUDIES
 The actual speed of vehicles over a particular route may fluctuate widely depending
on several factors such as geometric features, traffic conditions, time, place,
environment and driver.
(a) Travel time is the reciprocal of speed and is a simple measure of how all well a road
network is operating
(b) Spot speed is the instantaneous speed of a vehicle at a specified section or location
(c) Average speed is the average of the spot speeds of all vehicles passing a given point
on the highway. There are two definitions for the average of a series of spot speed
measurements viz,: space mean speed and time mean speed.
a. Space mean speed represents the average speed of vehicles in a certain road
length at any time. This is obtained from the observed travel time of the
vehicles over a relatively long stretch of the road. Space mean speed is
calculated from
b. Time mean speed represents the speed distribution of vehicles at a point on
the roadway and it is the average of instantaneous speeds of observed vehicles
at the spot. Time mean speed is calculated from:
(d) Running speed is the average speed maintained by a vehicle over a particular stretch
of road, while the vehicle is in motion; this is obtained by dividing the distance
covered by the time during which the vehicle is actually in motion
(e) Overall speed or travel speed is the effective speed with which a vehicle traverses a
particular route between tow terminals; this is achieved by dividing the total distance
travelled by the total time taken including all delays and stoppages enrooted.

TYPES OF SPEED STUDIES

Speed studies carried out occasionally give the general trend in speeds. There are two types
of speed studies carried out.
1. Spot speed study and
2. Speed and delay study

SPOT SPEED STUDY

 Spot speed study may be useful in any of te following aspects of traffic engineering;
(a) To use in planning traffic control and in traffic regulations.
(b) To use in geometric design for redesigning existing highways or for deciding
design speed for new facilities.
(c) To use in accident studies
(d) To study the traffic capacity
(e) To decide the speed trends
 The spot speeds are affected by physical features of the road like pavement width,
curve, sight distance, gradient, pavement intersections and road side developments.
 Other factors affecting spot speeds are environmental conditions (like weather,
visibility), enforcement, traffic conditions, driver, vehicle and motive of travel.
  There are a number of methods to measure spot speed. The spot speed may be
obtained either by finding the running speed of vehicle over a short distance of less
the 50 meter or by finding the instantaneous speed while crossing a section,
depending on the method used.
 One of the simples method of finding spot speed is by using enoscope which is just a
mirror box supported on a tripod stand.

 In its simplest principle, the observer is stationed on one side of the road and stars a
stopwatch when a vehicle crosses that section. An enoscope is placed at a convenient
distance of say 30 m in such a way that the image of the vehicle is seen by the
observer when the vehicle crosses the section where the enoscope is fixed and at this
instant the spot watch is stopped.
 Thus the time required for the vehicle to cross the known length is found and is
converted to the speed in kmph.
 The main advantage of this method is that it is simple and cheap equipment and is
easy to use.
 The greatest disadvantage of this method is that the progress is as slow as it is
difficult to spot out typical vehicles and the number of samples observed will be less.
There is also a possibility of human error.
 Other equipment use for spot speed measurements are graphic recorder, electronic
meter, radar, speed meter and by photographic methods. Of all these methods, the
radar speed meter method seems to be the most efficient one as it is capable of
measuring the spot speeds instantaneously and also record them automatically. But
this equipment is costly.

PRESENTATION OF SPOT SPEED DATA

A. Average speed of vehicles: From the spot speed data of the selected samples,
frequency distribution tables are prepared by arranging the data in groups covering
various speed ranges and the number of vehicles in such range. The arithmetic mean
is taken as the average speed. The table gives the general information of the speeds
maintained on the section. And also regarding the speed distribution pattern.

B. Cumulative speed of vehicles: A graph is plotted with the average values of each
speed group on the X-axis and the cumulative percent of vehicles travelled at or
below the different speeds on the Y-axis. From this graph, the 85th percentile speed is
 found out which gives that speed at or
below 85 percent of the vehicles are
passing the point on the highway or only
15 percent of the vehicles exceed the
speed at that spot. The drivers exceeding
85th percentile speed are usually
considered to drive faster than the safe
speed under existing conditions and
hence this speed is adopted for the safe
speed limit at this zone. However for the
purpose of highway geometric design,
98th percentile speed is taken. The 15th
percentile speed represents the lower
speed limit if it is desired to prohibit
slow moving vehicles to decrease delay and congestion, as 85 percent of vehicles to
the stream travel at speed higher than this value and therefore need overtaking
opportunities.

C. Model average: A frequency distribution

curve of spot speeds is plotted with speed
of vehicles or average values of each speed
group of vehicles on the X-axis and the
percentage of vehicles in that group on the
Y-axis. The graph is called the speed
distribution curve. This curve will have a
definite peak value of travel speed across
the section and this speed is denoted as
model speed. The speed distribution curve
is helpful in determining the speed at
which the greatest proportion of vehicles
moves, given by the model speed. For free flow of vehicles, the speed distribution
follows a normal distribution curve.

3.10.2 SPEED AND DELAY STUDY

 The speed and delay studies give the running speeds, overall speeds, fluctuations in
speeds and the delay between two stations of a road spaced far apart.
 They also give the information such as the amount, location, duration frequency and
causes of the delay in the traffic stream.
 The delay or time lost by traffic during the travel period may be either due to fixed
delays or operational delays. Fixed delays occur primarily at intersections due to
traffic signals and at level crossings. Operational delays are caused by the interference
of traffic movements, such as turning vehicles, parking and imparking vehicles,
pedestrians etc.
  There are various methods of carrying out speed and delay study, namely
 Floating car or riding check method
 License plate or vehicle number method
 Interview technique
 Elevated observations, and Photographic technique

A. Floating car or riding check method

 In the floating car method a test vehicle is driven over a given course of travel at
approximately the average speed of the stream, thus trying to float with the traffic
stream. A number of test runs are made along the study stretch and a group of
observers record the various details. One observer is seated in the floating car with
two stop watches. One of the stop watches is used to record the time at various control
point like intersections, bridges or any other fixed points in each trip.
 The other stop watch is used to find the duration of the individual delays. The time,
location and cause of these delays are recorded by the second observer.
 The numbers of vehicle overtaking the test vehicle and the overtaken by the test
vehicle are noted in each trip by third observer.
 The no. of vehicles travelling in the opposite direction in each trip is noted by fourth
observer.
 In this method the detailed information is obtained concerning all phases of speed and
delay including location, duration and causes of delay.

 where, t⁻ = average journey time in minute

q= flow of vehicle(average volume) in one direction of the stream
na = average number of vehicles counted in the direction of the Stream when the test
vehicle travels in the opposite directions
ny= the average no. of vehicles overtaking the test vehicle minus the no. of vehicles
overtaken when the test is in the direction of ‘q’
Tw= average journey time, in minute when the test vehicle is travelling with the
stream ‘q’
Ta= average journey time, in minute when test vehicle is running against the stream
‘q’

B. License plate or vehicle number method

 Synchronized top watches or voice recording equipment are used.
 Observers are stationed at the entrance and exit of a test section where information
of travel time is required. The timing and the vehicle number are noted by the
observers of the selected sample. From the office computations, travel time of
each vehicle could be found.
 But the method does not give important details such as causes of delays and the
duration and number of delays within the test section.
C. Interview technique
 The work can be completed in a short time by interviewing and collecting details
from the road users on the spot.
 However the data collected may not provide with all the details correctly.

D. Elevated observations, and Photographic technique methods

 Are useful for studying short test sections like intersections etc.
 Intersection delay studies need special attention as this poses a major problem to
the traffic engineer.
 Such studies at intersection will help in evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness
of the control devices like signal system, the remedial measures for accidents etc.

TRAFFIC CAPACITY STUDIES

TRAFFIC CAPACITY
 Traffic capacity is the ability of a roadway to accommodate traffic volume. It is
expressed as the maximum number of vehicle in a lane or a road that can pass a given
point in unit time, usually an hour, i.e., vehicles per hour per lane or roadway.
 Volume represents an actual rate of flow and responds to variations in traffic demand,
while capacity indicates a capability or maximum rate of flow with a certain level of
service characteristics that can be carried by the roadway.
 The capacity of a roadway depends on a number of prevailing roadway and traffic
conditions.

BASIC CAPACITY
 Basic capacity is the maximum number of passenger cars that can pass a given point
on a lane or roadway during one hour under the most nearly ideal roadway and traffic
conditions which can possibly be attained.
 Two roads having the same physical features will have the same basic capacity
irrespective of traffic conditions, as they are assumed to be ideal.
 This basic capacity is the theoretical capacity
C = (1000 V) / S
C = Capacity of a single lane, vehicle per hour
V = Speed in kmph
 S = Average centre to centre spacing of vehicles, when they follow one behind the
other as a queue.

POSSIBLE CAPACITY
 Possible capacity is the maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given point on a
lane or roadway during one hour under prevailing roadway and traffic conditions.
 The possible capacity of a road is generally much lower than the basic capacity. Thus
the value of possible capacity varies from zero to basic capacity.
 For the purpose of design, neither basic capacity nor possible capacity can be adopted
as they represent two extreme cases of roadway and traffic conditions.
PRACTICAL CAPACITY
 Practical capacity is the maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given point on
a lane or roadway during one hour, without traffic density being so great as to cause
unreasonable delay, hazard or restriction to the driver’s freedom to manoeuvre under
the prevailing roadway and traffic conditions.
 Also called as the design capacity

LEVEL OF SERVICE
 Level-of-Service (LOS) of a traffic facility is a concept introduced to relate the
quality of traffic service to a given flow rate
 Level-of-Service is introduced by HCM
(Highway Capacity Manual) to denote the
level of quality one can derive from a
local under different operation
characteristics and traffic volume.
 HCM proposes LOS as a letter that
designates a range of operating conditions
on a particular type of facility.
 Six LOS letters are defined by HCM,
namely A, B, C, D, E, and F, where A
denote the best quality of service and F
denote the worst. These definitions are
based on Measures of Effectiveness
(MoE) of that facility. Typical measure of effectiveness includes speed, travel-time,
density, delay etc. There will be an associated service volume for each of the LOS
levels.
 The following are the factors which might be considered in evaluating the level of
service.
1. Speed and travel time, including the operating speed and overall travel time
consumed in travelling over a section over a section of roadway.
2. Traffic interruptions or restrictions, with due consideration to the number of stops
per mile, delays involved and the speed changes necessary to maintain pace in the
traffic stream.
3. Freedom to manoeuvre to maintain the desired operating speeds.
4. Driving comfort and convenience reflecting the roadway and traffic conditions.
5. Economy, with due considerations operating cost of the vehicle

 The operating conditions for the six levels of levels of service selected by the Manual
are given below
LEVEL OF SERVICE A:
Free flow, with low volumes and high speeds. Traffic density is low, with speeds
controlled by drivers, desired speed limits and physical roadway conditions. Little or no
restriction in manoeuvrability due to presence of other vehicles and drivers can maintain
their speeds with little or no delay.

LEVEL OF SERVICE B:
Zone of stable flow, with operating speeds beginning to be restricted somewhat by traffic
conditions. Drivers still have reasonable freedom to select their speed and lane of
operation. Reductions in speed are not unreasonable. The lower limit (lowest speed,
highest volume) of this level of service has been associated with service volumes used in
the design of rural highways.

LEVEL OF SERVICE C:
Still in the zone of stable flow, but speeds and manoeuvrability are more closely
controlled by higher volumes. Most of the drivers restricted in the freedom to select their
own speed, lane changing or overtaking manoeuvres. A relatively satisfactory operating
speed is still obtained with service volumes perhaps suitable for urban design practice.

LEVEL OF SERVICE D:
Approaches unstable flow, with tolerable operating speeds being maintained though
considerably affected by changes in operating conditions. Fluctuations in volume and
temporary destructions to flow may cause substantial drops in operation speeds. Drivers
have little freedom to manoeuvre, comfort and convenience are low, and conditions can
be tolerated for short periods of time.

LEVLE OF SERVICE E:
Flow is unstable. Cannot be described by speed alone, but represents operations at even
operating speeds than in level D, with volumes at or near the capacity of the highway. At
capacity, speeds are typically but not always in the neighbourhood of 50 KPH.

LEVEL OF SERVICE F:
Forced flow operations at low speeds, where volume is below capacity. Conditions
result from queues of vehicles is below capacity. Conditions result from queues of
vehicles backing up from an obstruction downstream. The section under study will be
serving as a storage area during parts or all of the peak hour. Speeds are reduced
substantially and stoppages may occur for short or long periods of time, because of
downstream congestion. In extreme, both speed and volume can drop to zero.

The figure gives a typical curve showing the relationship generally found between
operating speed and volume/capacity ratio. In this figure are depicted the zones where the
different levels of services are generally found to occur
FACTORS AFFECTING HIGHWAY CAPACITY AND LEVEL OF SERVICE Some
of the important factors that affect the practical capacity of a traffic lane are listedbelow.
1. LANE WIDTH: As the lane width decreases, the capacity also decreases. The practical
capacity of 3.0 m wide lane in a two-lane rural road may decrease to 76 percent of the
capacity of a 3.5 m lane.

2. LATERAL CLEARANCE
 Vertical obstructions such as retaining walls or parked vehicles near the traffic lane
reduce the effective width of a lane and thus results in reduction in the capacity of
lane. Further, restricted lateral clearance effects driving comfort and increases rates.
 A minimum clearance of 1.85 m from the pavement edge to the obstruction is
considered desirable so that capacity is not affected adversely.
 When the distance from pavement edge to an obstruction decreases to 0.75 m on one
side only, the capacity decreases to 96% and when this obstruction is on both sides,
the percentage further decreases to 80% of the standard design capacity.

3. WIDTH OF SHOULDERS
 Narrow shoulders reduce the effective width of traffic lanes as the vehicles travel
towards the centre of the pavement.
 When vehicles in emergency (like that of a type puncture or other break down) have
to park on the shoulder of insufficient width, there is reduction in effective lane width
resulting in a great reduction in the capacity of the lane.

4. COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
 Large commercial vehicles like truck and buses occupy greater space and influence
the other traffic in the same lane as well as the vehicles along the adjoining lanes.
 Also these heavy vehicles may travel at lower speeds especially on grades.

5. ALIGNMENT
 If the alignment and geometrics are not up to the standards, the capacity will decrease.
Particularly, restrictions to sight distance requirements cause reduction in capacity.
 Steep and long grades affect the capacity. When 60% of the road length has sub-
standard OSD, the capacity decreases to 65% of the standard design capacity.

6. PRESENCE OF INTERSECTIONS AT GRADE

 Intersections restrict free flow of traffic and thus adversely affect the capacity. The
capacity of and intersection of two roads crossing at grade will be slightly less than
the road with lower capacity of the two.
 At signalized intersections as the vehicles have to stop alternately to allow crossing
traffic, the capacity of the intersection will be further decreased.
 In order to provide consistent traffic flow and maximum capacity on important
highways, is necessary to plan them as controlled access highways with grade
separated intersections
7. OTHER FACTORS
Other factors which affect the capacity are the stream speed, one or two way traffic
movement, number of traffic lanes, vehicular and driver characteristics, composition
of traffic and the traffic volume

PASSENGER CAR UNIT (PCU)

 The different vehicle classes have a wide range of static characteristics and dynamic
characteristics; apart from these the driver behaviour of the different vehicle classes is
also found to vary considerable. Therefore mixed traffic flow characteristics are very
much complex when compare to homogeneous traffic and it is difficult to estimate the
traffic volume, capacity of roadway under the mixed traffic flow, unless the different
vehicle classes are converted to one common standard vehicle unit.
 Therefore it is a common practice to consider the passenger car as the standard
vehicle unit to convert the other vehicle classes and this unit is called passenger car
unit.

PCU value depends upon the several factors, such as:

1. Vehicle characteristics
2. Transverse and longitudinal gaps or clearance between moving vehicles.
3. Speed distribution of the mixed traffic stream, volume to capacity ratio.
4. Roadway characteristics.
5. Regulation and control of traffic.
6. Environmental and climatic conditions.

Passenger car equivalency factor (PCU)

 As per IRC:86-1983
 ACCIDENT STUDIES
Introduction
 The problem of accident is a very acute in highway transportation due to complex
flow pattern of vehicular traffic, presence of mixed traffic along with pedestrians.
 Traffic accident leads to loss of life and property.
 Thus the traffic engineers have to undertake a big responsibility of providing safe
traffic movements to the road users and ensure their safety.
 Road accidents cannot be totally prevented but by suitable traffic engineering and
management the accident rate can be reduced to a certain extent.
 For this reason systematic study of traffic accidents are required to be carried out.
 Proper investigation of the cause of accident will help to propose preventive measures
in terms of design and control.

Objectives of accident studies

Some objectives of accident studies are listed below:
1. To study the causes of accidents and suggest corrective measures at potential location
2. To evaluate existing design
3. To support proposed designs
4. To compute the financial losses incurred
5. Economic justification to the improvement suggested by the traffic engineer
6. To carry out before and after studies and to demonstrate the improvement in the
problem.

Causes of road accidents

 There are four basic elements in a traffic element.
A. The road user
B. The vehicle
C. The road and its condition
D. Environmental factors-traffic, weather etc.
 The road accident may be caused due to a combination of several reasons and seldom due
to one particular season. Hence it is often not possible to pin point a particular single
cause of an accident.
 Various causes of accidents may hence be listed as given below
A. Drivers: Excessive speed and rash driving, carelessness, violation of rules and
regulations, failure to see or understand the traffic situation, sign or signal,
temporary effects due to fatigue, sleep or alcohol.
B. Pedestrians: violating regulations, carelessness in using the carriageway meant
for vehicular traffic.
C. Passengers: alighting from or getting into moving vehicles
D. Vehicle defects: failure of breaks, steering system, or lighting system, tyre burst
and any other defect in the vehicle.
E. Road condition: slippery or skidding road surface, pot holes, ruts and other
damaged conditions of the road surface.
 F. Road design: Defective geometric design like inadequate sight distance,
inadequate width of shoulders, improper curve design, improper traffic control
devices and improper lighting,.
G. Weather: unfavourable weather condition like mist, fog, snow, dust, smoke or
heavy rainfall which restricts normal visibility and renders driving unsafe.
H. Animals: stray animals on the road
I. Other causes: Incorrect signs or signals, gate of level crossing not closed when
required, ribbon development, badly located advertisement boards or service
station etc.

ACCIDENT STUDIES AND RECORDS

 The various steps involved in traffic accident studies are collection of accident data,
preparation of reports, location file and diagrams, and application of the above records for
suggesting preventive measures.

1) Collection of accident data: The details to be collected are briefly mentioned here
a) General: Date, time, persons involved in the accident and their particulars,
classification of accident like fatal, serious, minor etc.
b) Location: Description and details of the location of accident.
c) Details of vehicles involved: Registration number make and description of the
vehicles, loading details, vehicular defects
d) Nature of accident: condition of vehicles involved, details of collision, and
pedestrians or objects involved, damages, injuries causality etc.
e) Road and traffic condition: Details of road geometrics, whether the road is
straight or curved, surface characteristics such as dry, wet or slippery etc. Traffic
condition-type of traffic, traffic density, etc.
f) Primary cause of accident: Various possible causes and the primary cause of the
accident.
g) Accident costs: The total cost of the accident computed in terms or rupees, of the
various involvements like property damages, personal injuries and causalities.

2) Accident report:
 The accident should be reported to police authorities who would take legal actions
especially in more serious accidents involving injuries, causalities or severe
damage to property.
 The accident data should be collected as given above and the accident report is
prepared with al facts which might be useful in subsequent analysis, claims for
compensation, etc.

3) Accident records: The accident records are maintained giving all particulars of the
accidents, location and other details.
A. Location files: these are useful to keep a check on the location of accident and to
indentify points of high accident incidence. Location fields should be maintained by
each police station for the respective jurisdiction
B. Spot maps: Accident location spot maps show accidents by spots, pins or symbols on
the map. A map of suitable scale say 1 cm=40 to 60 meter, may be used for spotting
urban accidents. The common legend used for spot maps, are given below.

C. Condition diagram: A condition diagram is a drawing to scale showing all important

physical conditions of an accident location to be studied. The important features
generally to be shown in this diagram with suitable dimensions marked there in an
roadway limits, curves, kerb lines, bridges, culvers , trees and all details of roadway
conditions, obstruction to vision, property lines, signs, signals etc. There are standard
symbols used in showing various details. The condition and collision diagrams may
be combined together in a single sketch, if necessary.

D. Collision diagram: these are the diagrams showing the approximate path of vehicles
and pedestrians involved in the accidents. Collision diagrams are most useful to
compare the accident pattern before and after the remedial measures have been taken.
 MEASURES FOR THE REDCUTION IN ACCIDENT RATES
 The various measures to decrease the accident rates may be divided into three groups:
 Engineering
 Enforcement
 Education

1. ENGINEERING MEASURES
(a) Road Design: The geometric design features of the road such as sight distance, width
of pavement, horizontal and vertical alignment design details and intersection design
elements are checked and corrected if necessary. The pavement surface characteristics
including the skid resistance values are checked and suitable maintenance steps taken
to bring them up to the design standards. Where necessary by-passes may be
constructed to separate through traffic from local traffic. To minimise delay and
conflicts at the intersections, it may be essential to design and construct grade
separated intersection or flyovers.
(b) Preventive maintenance of vehicles: The braking system, steering and lighting
arrangements of vehicles playing on the road may be checked at suitable intervals and
heavy penalties levied on defective vehicles. These measures are particularly
necessary for public carriers.
(c) Before and after studies: The record of accidents and their patterns for different
locations are maintained by means of collision and condition diagrams. After making
the necessary improvements in design and enforcing regulation, it again necessary to
collect and maintain the record of accidents “before and after” the introduction of
preventive measures to study their efficiency.
(d) Road lighting: Proper road lighting can decrease the rate of accidents during night,
due to poor visibility. Lighting is particularly desirable at intersections, bridge sites
and at places where there are restrictions to traffic movements.

2. ENFORCEMENT MEASURES
(a) Speed Control: To enable drivers of buses to develop correct speed habits
tachometers may be fitted so as to give the record of speeds. Also surprise checks on
spot speed of all fast moving vehicles should be done at selected locations and timing
and legal actions on those who violate the speed limits should be taken.
(b) Traffic Control devices: Signals may be re-designed or signal system be introduced
if necessary. Similarly proper traffic control device like signs, markings or
channelizing islands may be installed wherever found necessary.
(c) Training and supervision: The transport authorities should be strict in testing and
issuing license to drivers of public service vehicles and taxis. Even the drivers who
have passed the requisite tests should be kept under proper supervision and be trained
in proper defensive driving. Driving license of the driver may renewed after specified
period, only after conducting some tests to check whether the driver is fit.
(d) Medical check: The drivers should be tested for vision and reaction time at
prescribed intervals say, once in three years
 (e) Special precautions for commercial vehicles: It may be insisted on having a
conductor or attendant to help and give proper direction to drivers of heavy
commercial vehicles.
(f) Observance of law and regulation: This is one of the most essential steps in
enforcement for prevention of accidents. Traffic or transport authorities should send
study groups of trained personnel, assisted by police to different location to check
whether the traffic regulations are being followed by the road users and also to
enforce the essential regulations. The study group can provide useful data for deciding
about the necessity of revision of certain traffic regulation.

3. EDUCATION MEASURES
(a) Education of road users: It is very essential to educate the road users for the various
precautionary measures to use the road way facilities with safety. The passengers and
pedestrians should be taught the rules of the road, correct manner of crossing etc. This
may be possible by introducing necessary instruction in the schools for the children.
(b) Safety drive: Imposing traffic safety week when the road users are properly directed
by the help of traffic police and transport staff is a common means of training the
public these days. Road users should be impressed on what should and what should
not be done, with the help of films and documentaries. The IRC has been organising
Highway Safety Workshop in different regions of the country.

PARKING STUDIES
 The demand by automobile users of parking space is one of the major problems of
highway transportation, especially in metropolitan cities.
 In industrial, commercial and residential places with multi-storeyed buildings, parking
demand is particularly high. Parking studies are useful to evaluate the facilities
available.

The aspects to be investigated during parking studies are:

PARKING DEMAND
 Before taking any measures for the betterment of conditions, data regarding
availability of parking space, extent of its usage and parking demand is essential.
 It is also required to estimate the parking fares also. Parking surveys are intended to
provide all these information. Since the duration of parking varies with different
vehicles, several statistics are used to access the parking need.

PARKING SURVEYS
 Parking surveys are conducted to collect the above said parking statistics. The most
common parking surveys conducted are in-out survey, fixed period sampling and
license plate method of survey.
I. In-out survey: In this survey, the occupancy count in the selected parking lot is taken
at the beginning. Then the number of vehicles that enter the parking lot for a
particular time interval is counted. The number of vehicles that leave the parking lot is
 also taken. The final occupancy in the parking lot is also taken. Here the labour
required is very less. Only one person may be enough. But we won’t get any data
regarding the time duration for which a particular vehicle used that parking lot.
Parking duration and turnover is not obtained. Hence we cannot estimate the parking
fare from this survey.

II. Fixed period sampling: This is almost similar to in-out survey. All vehicles are
counted at the beginning of the survey. Then after a fixed time interval that may vary
between 15 minutes to i hour, the count is again taken. Here there are chances of
missing the number of vehicles that were parked for a short duration.

III. License plate method of survey: This results in the most accurate and realistic data.
In this case of survey, every parking stall is monitored at a continuous interval of 15
minutes or so and the license plate number is noted down. This will give the data
regarding the duration for which a particular vehicle was using the parking bay. This
will help in calculating the fare because fare is estimated based on the duration for
which the vehicle was parked. If the time interval is shorter, then there are less
chances of missing short-term parkers. But this method is very labour intensive.

PARKING CHARACTERISTICS
 The study is directed to note the present parking practices prevalent in the area under
consideration and the general problems in parking

ILL EFFECTS OF PARKING

 Congestion: Parking takes considerable street space leading to the lowering of the
road capacity. Hence, speed will be reduced; journey time and delay will also
subsequently increase. The operational cost of the vehicle increases leading to great
economical loss to the community.
 Accidents: Careless manoeuvring of parking and un parking leads to accidents which
are referred to as parking accidents. Common type of parking accidents occur while
driving out a car from the parking area, careless opening of the doors of parked cars,
and while bringing in the vehicle to the parking lot for parking.
 Environmental pollution: They also cause pollution to the environment because
stopping and starting of vehicles while parking and un parking results in noise and
fumes. They also affect the aesthetic beauty of the buildings because cars parked at
every available space create a feeling that building rises from a plinth of cars.
 Obstruction to fire fighting operations: Parked vehicles may obstruct the movement
of fire fighting vehicles. Sometimes they block access to hydrants and access to
buildings.
 PARKING SPACE INVENTORY
 The area under study is fully surveyed and a map is prepared showing all places
where kerb parking and off-street parking facilities can be provided to meet the
parking demands.
 The traffic engineer has to strike a balance between capacity and parking demands
and to design proper facilities for parking.
 Parking requirements: There are some minimum parking requirements for different
types of building. For residential plot area less than 300 sq.m require only community
parking space. For residential plot area from 500 to 1000 sq.m, minimum one-fourth
of the open area should be reserved for parking. Offices may require at least one space
for every 70 sq.m as parking area. One parking space is enough for 10 seats in a
restaurant where as theatres and cinema halls need to keep only 1 parking space for 20
seats. Thus, the parking requirements are different for different land use zones.

On street parking
 On street parking means the vehicles are parked on the sides of the street itself. This
will be usually controlled by government agencies itself. Common types of on-street
parking are as listed below. This classification is based on the angle in which the
vehicles are parked with respect to the road alignment. As per IRC the standard
dimensions of a car is taken as 5 X 2.5 metres and that for a truck is 3.75 X 7.5
metres.
Off street parking
 In many urban centres, some areas are exclusively allotted for parking which will be
at some distance away from the main stream of traffic. Such a parking is referred to as
off street parking. They may be operated by either public agencies or private firms.
 TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES
 The various aids and devices used to control, regulate and guide traffic may be called
traffic control devices.
 The general requirements of traffic control devices are:
 Attention
 Meaning
 Time for response and
 Respect of road users
 The most common among these are
 Signs
 Signals
 Markings
 Islands

TRAFFIC SIGNS
The traffic signs should be backed by law in order to make them useful and effective.

REQUIREMENTS OF TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES

1. The control device should fulfil a need: Each device must have a specific purpose for
the safe and efficient operation of traffic f low. The superfluous devices should not be
used.

2. It should command attention from the road users: This affects the design of signs.
For commanding attention, proper visibility should be there. Also the sign should be
distinctive and clear. The sign should be placed in such a way that the driver requires
no extra effort to see the sign.

3. It should convey a clear, simple meaning: Clarity and simplicity of message is

essential for the driver to properly understand the meaning in short time. The use of
colour, shape and legend as codes becomes important in this regard. The legend
should be kept short and simple so that even a less educated driver could understand
the message in less time.

4. Road users must respect the signs: Respect is commanded only when the drivers are
conditioned to expect that all devices carry meaningful and important messages.
Overuse, misuse and confusing messages of devices tend the drivers to ignore them.

5. The control device should provide adequate time for proper response from the
road users: This is again related to the design aspect of traffic control devices. The
sign boards should be placed at a distance such that the driver could see it and gets
sufficient time to respond to the situation. For example, the STOP sign which is
always placed at the stop line of the intersection should be visible for at least one safe
stopping sight distance away from the stop line.
 COMMUNICATION TOOLS
A number of mechanisms are used by the traffic engineer to communicate with the road user.
These mechanisms recognize certain human limitations, particularly eyesight. Messages are
conveyed through the following elements.

1. COLOUR: It is the first and most easily noticed characteristics of a device. Usage of
different colours for different signs is important. The most commonly used colours are
red, green, yellow, black, blue, and brown. These are used to code certain devices and to
reinforce specific messages. Consistent use of colours helps the drivers to identify the
presence of sign board ahead.

2. SHAPE: It is the second element discerned by the driver next to the colour of the device.
The categories of shapes normally used are circular, triangular, rectangular, and diamond
shape. Two exceptional shapes used in traffic signs are octagonal shape for STOP sign
and use of inverted triangle for GIVE WAY (YIELD) sign. Diamond shape signs are not
generally used in India.

3. LEGEND: This is the last element of a device that the drive comprehends. This is an
important aspect in the case of traffic signs. For the easy understanding by the driver, the
legend should be short, simple and specific so that it does not divert the attention of the
driver. Symbols are normally used as legends so that even a person unable to read the
language will be able to understand that. There is no need of it in the case of traffic
signals and road markings.

4. PATTERN: It is normally used in the application of road markings, complementing

traffic signs. Generally solid, double solid and dotted lines are used. Each pattern conveys
different type of meaning. The frequent and consistent use of pattern to convey
information is recommended so that the drivers get accustomed to the different types of
markings and can instantly recognize them.

TYPES OF TRAFFIC SIGNS

 There is several hundreds of traffic signs available covering wide variety of traffic
situations. They can be classified into three main categories.
1) Regulatory signs: These signs require the driver to obey the signs for the
safety of other road users.
2) Warning signs: These signs are for the safety of oneself who is driving and
advice the drivers to obey these signs.
3) Informative signs: These signs provide information to the driver about the
facilities available ahead, and the route and distance to reach the specific
destinations
 REGULATORY/MANDATORY SIGNS
 Are meant to inform the road users of certain laws, regulations and prohibitions; the
violation of these signs is a legal offence.
 The regulatory signs are classified under the following sub-heads:

I. STOP AND GIVE-WAY SIGNS: The stop sign is intended to stop the vehicles on a
roadway; it is octagonal in shape and red in colour with a white border. This sign may
be used in combination with a rectangular definition plate with the word “STOP”
written in English and other languages as necessary. The give way sign is triangular in
shape with the apex downwards and white in colour with a red border, this sign may
also be used in combination with a definition plate.

II. PROHIBITORY SIGNS: are meant to prohibit certain traffic movements, use of
horns or entry of certain vehicle class. These signs are circular in shape and white in
colour with a red border. The common prohibitory signs are, Straight Prohibited, No
Entry, One-Way, Vehicles Prohibited in Two Both Directions, All Motor Vehicles
Prohibited. Truck Prohibited, Bullock Cart and Hand cart Prohibited, Pedestrians
Prohibited, Right/left Turn Prohibited, U-Turn Prohibited, Overtaking Prohibited and
Horn Prohibited.

III. NO PARKING AND NO STOPPING SINGS: No parking sign is mean to prohibit

parking of vehicles at that place, the definition plate may indicate the parking
restriction with respect to days, distance etc. The No Parking sign is circular in shape
with a blue back ground, a red border and an oblique red bar at an angle of 45
degrees. No Stopping/Standing sign is meant to prohibit stopping of vehicles at that
place; the scope of the prohibition may be indicated on a definition plate. The No
 Stopping/Standing sign is circular in shape with blue back ground, red border and two
oblique red bars at 45 degrees and right angle to each other.

IV. COMPULSORY DIRECTION CONTROL SIGNS: indicates by arrows, the

appropriate directions in which the vehicles are obliged to proceed, or the only
directions in which they are permitted to proceed. The signs are circular in shape with
a blue back ground and white direction arrows. Some of the compulsory Direction
Controls are Compulsory Turn Left, Ahead Only, Ahead or Turn Left/Right and keep
left. These are indicated by white symbols instead of White direction arrows of the
Compulsory Direction Signs.

V. RESTRICTION ENDS SIGN: indicates the point at which all

prohibitions notified by prohibitory signs for moving vehicles case
to apply. These signs are also circular with a white back ground
and a broad diagonal black band at 45 degrees.

VI. SPEED LIMIT AND VEHICLE CONTROL SIGNS: Speed Limit signs are meant
to restrict the speed of all or certain classes of vehicles on a particular stretch of a
road. These signs are circular in shape and have white back ground, red border and
back numerals indicating the speed limit.
The vehicle Control signs are also similar
to speed limit symbols instead of
numerals. The common controls are Width
Limit, Length Limit, Load Limit, Load
Limit and Axle Load Limit. The definition
plate may be used in combination to give
more details, symbolically or by words.
WARNING/CAUTIONARY SIGNS
 Used to warn the road users of certain hazardous conditions that exist or adjacent to
the roadway. The Warning signs are in the shape of equilateral triangle with its apex
pointing upwards. They have a white back ground and black symbols. The warning
signs are to be located at sufficient distance in advance of the hazard warned against;
these distances are 120, 90, 60, and 40 meter respectively on NH/SH, Major District
Roads, Other District Roads and Village Roads; on urban roads this distance is 50
meter.
 The commonly used Warning signs are, Right Hand/Left Hand Curve, Right/Left Hair
Pin Bend, Right/Left Reverse Bend, Steep Ascent/Descent, Narrow Bridge/Road
Ahead, Gap in Median, Slippery Road, Cycle Crossing, Pedestrian Crossing, School
Zone, Men at Work, Ferry, Cross Road, Side Road, T-Intersection, Y-Intersection,
Major Road Ahead, Round About, Dangerous Dip, Hump or Rough Road, Barrier
Ahead, Unguarded Railway Crossing, Guarded Railway Crossing and Falling Rock.
 INFORMATORY SIGNS
 These signs are used to guide the road users along routes, inform them of destination
and distance and provide with information to make travel easier, safe and pleasant.
 The information signs are grouped under the following sub-heads:

i. Direction and Place Identification signs: are rectangular with white back ground,
black border and black arrows and letter. The inscription should be in English and
other languages as necessary. The signs of this group include Destination signs,
Direction signs, Re-assurance signs, Route Marker and Place Identification signs.

ii. Facility Information signs: are rectangular with blue back ground and white/black
letter/symbols. Sine if these signs indicate Public Telephone, Petrol Pump, Hospital,
First Aid Post, Eating Place and Resting Place.

iii. Other Useful Information signs: include No Through Road, No Through Side Road
etc.

iv. Parking signs: are set up parallel to the road using square sign board with blue
background and white coloured letter ‘P’. Additional definition plate may be used to
indicate category of vehicle for which parking space is reserved, direction of parking
space etc.

v. Flood Gauge: should be installed at all cause ways and submersible bridges or
culvers to indicate to the road users the height of flood above road level.

ROAD MARKINGS
FUNCTIONS
 Road markings are used as a means of controlling and guiding traffic.
 They are highly important on roads and intersections as they promote road safety and
bring about smooth and harmonious flow of traffic along guided paths of travel.
 One advantage with the road markings is that they convey the required information to
the driver without distracting his attention from the carriageway.

TYPES OF ROAD MARKINGS

Road markings are basically of two types:

i. Carriage way markings: Markings are those that are applied to the carriageway
itself.

ii. Object Markings: Markings on objects such as abutment, piers, kerbs, traffic islands,
culvert headwalls, etc.
 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF LONGITUDINAL PAVEMENT MARKINGS
1) Solid lines are restrictive in nature and it is an offence to cross or straddle such a line.
2) Broken lines are restrictive in character, and vehicles can cross such a line provided
this can be done with safety.
3) Double line indicates maximum restrictions.

CARRIAGE WAY MARKINGS

1. Centre lines
 A centre line marking is provided to demarcate the centre of a carriage way and to
separate traffic in opposite directions.

2. Traffic Lane lines

 Lines drawn to designate traffic lanes. These are used to guide the traffic and to
properly utilize the carriageway.
 Traffic lane lines are broken lines which permit lane changing with caution.

3. No Overtaking Zone Markings

 No overtaking zone markings are provided on summit curves, horizontal curves and
elsewhere in two and three lane highways where overtaking and passing manoeuvres
 must be prohibited because of non-availability of safe overtaking sight distances or
other hazardous conditions.
 The marking for a “No Overtaking” zone consists of a
combination line along the centre line. The
combination line consists of a double line, the left hand
element of which shall be a solid barrier line or solid
barrier line governing the traffic from the opposite
direction. Where a solid barrier line is to the right of
the broken line, the overtaking restriction shall apply
only to the opposing traffic.
 If both the lines are solid lines, no overtaking is permitted in both the directions.

4. Pavement Edge Lines

 Pavement edge lines are used to indicate the edges of carriageways which have no
kerbs.
 They serve as a visual guidance for the drivers, indicating to them the limits up to
which the driver can safely venture.
 They especially are useful during adverse weather and poor visibility.
 Edge lines are in the form of a single continuous line placed about 15 cm form the
edge. The width of the line is 15-20 cm.
5. Carriageway Width Reduction Transition Markings
 Reduction in the carriageway width is made known by a combination of
carriageway markings and road signs.

6. Obstruction Approach markings

 Obstruction approach markings
are necessary to guide traffic on
the approach to fixed
obstructions within the
carriageway.
 The markings must be designed
to guide the traffic away from
the obstruction.
7. Stop Lines
 Stop lines are solid white lines provided transversely to the carriageway and used to
indicate the point behind which vehicles are required to stop in compliance with a
STOP sign, traffic signal or traffic police.
 The width of the stop lines as per current Indian Practice is
 Urban and Sub-Urban roads: 20 cm
 Rural roads: 30 cm

8. Pedestrian Crossings
 Guide the pedestrian in the proper paths.
 They are marked at all intersections where there is substantial conflict between
vehicle and pedestrian movements. In addition, they may also be provided at anon-
intersectional locations, where there is concentrated pedestrian movement.
 As per the current Indian requirements the minimum width of the pedestrian crossing
should be 2 m and the maximum width should be 4 m.

9. Cyclist Crossings
 Cyclist crossings should have the same width as the cycle tracks. There are
marked by means of squares 50 cm x 50 cm at a centre to centre spacing of 100
cm.
10. Route Direction Arrows
 Used to guide effectively the traffic in the correct direction and lanes
 Because of low angle at which such markings are viewed by the drivers, these
markings must be elongated in the direction of traffic to be properly legible.

11. Word Messages

 Word messages are used to
convey information to guide,
warn or regulate traffic.
 Some of the common messages
used are: STOP, SLOW,
SPEED 25 etc
12. Markings at Approaches to Intersections
 For orderly and guided traffic movement at intersections, markings can be
profitably employed.
 Markings at intersections can be a combination of centre-lines, turn markings,
lane markings, stop lines, route direction arrows etc.

13. Parking Space Limits

 The delineation of the parking space limits promotes are efficient use of the
parking spaces and helps in preventing encroachment on fire hydrant zones, bus
stops, loading zones and locations where parking of vehicles will be undesirable.

OBJECT MARKINGS

1. Objects within the carriageway

 Obstruction in the carriageway are marked in this country by alternating black and
white stripes, sloping down at an angle of 450 towards the side of the obstruction on
which traffic passes.

2. Kerb marking for visibility:

 Kerbs of all islands are normally painted with either alternate black and white strips or
a chequered black and white design.
3. Kerb marking for parking restriction: For indicating restrictions on waiting and
parking, the kerb (top and face) or the carriageway is generally marked with a continuous
yellow line.
4. Objects adjacent to the carriageway: Objects such as guard rails, guard stones, drums
or trees are generally marked in solid white colour