1

4.1.7
Traffic Engineering

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Definition of traffic engineering

Traffic:
 Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians,

animals, vehicles or other conveyances, either

singly or together, while using the public way for
purpose of travel.
 Traffic in English is taken from the Arabic word

taraffaqa, which means to walk along slowly

together.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Vehicular Traffic

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Pedestrian Traffic
4

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Animal Traffic
5

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Animal Traffic
6

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Definition of Traffic Engineering:
7

 The Institute of Traffic Engineers (ITE) defines

Traffic Engineering as “That phase of Engineering
which deals with planning, geometric design and
traffic operations of roads, streets and highways,
their networks, terminals, abutting lands,
relationships with other modes of transportation
for the achievement of safe, efficient and
convenient movement of persons and goods”

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Growth of Subject of Traffic Engineering:
8

 Traffic Engineering is a comparatively new branch

of engineering and has grown with the increase in
traffic in recent years.
 As vehicular traffic began to increase, the
congestion on the streets began to hamper the safe
and efficient movement of traffic

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Functions of Traffic Engineer
9

1. Collection, analysis and interpretation of data

pertaining to traffic:
 Origin and destination survey

 Volume counts

 Speed, travel time and delay measurements

 Accident studies

 Parking characteristics

 Pedestrian behavior

 Capacity studies

 Economic loss caused by inferior traffic facilities

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Functions of Traffic Engineer…
10

2. Transportation planning
 The Traffic Engineer is concerned with the preparation of

transportation plans to ensure a safe, orderly and fully

integrated transportation system.
 Traffic Engineer is major actor during the process of

transport planning
3. Traffic Design:
 geometric design of highways and street,

 intersection design,

 schemes for grade separated interchanges

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Functions of Traffic Engineer…
11

 design of off-street and on street parking facilities

 design of terminal facility for trucks and buses.

4. Measures for operation of traffic

 Legislation and enforcement measures

 Management measures such as one way streets

 Measures for regulation of parking of vehicles

 Traffic control devices

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Functions of Traffic Engineer…
12

5. Administration.
 Organize and administer the various programs
intended to secure safe and efficient traffic movement
Scope of Traffic Engineering:
 The scope of traffic engineering can be covered by

the following five categories:

1. Traffic characteristics
a) Human limitation:
i. Physical limitation (vision, hearing,fatigue, etc.)
Er. Sabin Pokhrel
 Scope of Traffic Engineering…
13

ii. Mental limitation (intelligence, experience, skills, etc.)

iii. Emotional limitation (impatience, attentiveness, anger,
etc.
b) Vehicular limitations (weight, size, power of the vehicle)
2. Traffic operations:
 Traffic regulation, traffic control devices…etc

3. Traffic Planning
 Program of construction, planning of major streets,

terminals, parking…etc

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Scope of Traffic Engineering…
14

4. Traffic geometric design

 Design of expressway, streets, intersections etc

5. Traffic administration
 involving what are popularly known as the

3E’s.
 Engineering

 Education

 Enforcement

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Scope of Traffic Engineering…
15

Engineering
 Vehicular Engineering

 Highways

 Pollution control

 Information engineering

Education
 Schools

 Adult education

 Public press

 Radio/television

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Scope of Traffic Engineering…
16

Enforcement
 legislation for Driver and vehicle

 Licensing

 Police and courts

 Regulatory policy

Traffic characteristics
Driver Characteristics:
 A driver’s decisions and action depend principally on

information received through the sense. In general order of

importance, the senses most used by drivers are:
Er. Sabin Pokhrel
 Driver Characteristics…
17

 Visual (sight)
 Kinesthetic (movement)

 Auditory (hearing)

Driver Perception and Reaction:

 Driver perception reaction time is defined as the

interval between seeing, feelings or hearing a

traffic or highway situation and making an initial
response to what has been perceive.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Driver Characteristics…
18

 There are at least four steps or phases in

information processing that occur from the
presentation of a stimulus until the driver responds.
 Detection:
 Identification:
 Decision:
 Response

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Perception and Reaction Time
19

 The speed of all forms of reaction varies from one person to

another and from time to time in the same person.
 Reaction time changes gradually with age.
 People generally react more quickly to very strong stimuli,
than to weak ones.
 Complicated situations take longer to react to than simple
ones.
 A person’s physical condition affects his reactions. For
example, fatigue tends to lengthen a person’s reaction time.
 Distraction increase the time of all reactions except the reflex.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Pedestrian Characteristics
20

 Pedestrians are defined as people who travel on

foot or who use assistive devices, such as
wheelchairs, for mobility.
 The pedestrian is a major user of the roadway
system; when the system fails, he or she is a major
victim

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Walking Speed:
21

 Pedestrian walking speed range from about 0.8 to 1.8

m/sec.
 A pedestrian walking rate of 1.2m/sec is assumed for the
timing of pedestrian traffic signals.
 Free flow walking speeds vary with the pedestrian’s
age and sex as well as trip purpose.
 Pedestrians carrying baggage tend to walk about as
fast as those without baggage.
 Walking speeds decrease with the increases in
pedestrian density.
Er. Sabin Pokhrel
 Vehicle Characteristics

22

Vehicle Classification:
1.Large vehicle:
 A vehicle weighing over 10 ton should be known as a large vehicle.

 Bus, Truck, Tractor, Fire Brigade, Dozer, Loader, Dumper, Crane,

Roller etc,
2. Medium Vehicle:
 A vehicle weighing from 4 to 10 ton

 Mini bus, Mini truck. Jeep, Pickup, Van, Tractor, Roller etc.

3.Small Vehicle:
 A vehicle weighing upto 4 ton

 Car, Motorcycle, Scooter, Tempo etc.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Vehicle Characteristics…
23

4. Public Vehicle:
 A vehicle that has received the registration

certificate for transportation service will be known

as a public vehicle.
 The public vehicle will be divided into two types:

i) Passenger’s vehicle ii) Goods vehicle

 White letter & number should be written in black

plate

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Vehicle Characteristics…
24

5. Tourist vehicle:
 The public vehicle that has got the registration certificate to serve

foreigners will be known tourist vehicle.

 White letter & number should be written in green plate.

6.Private Vehicle:
 The vehicle registered for private use will be registered as a
private vehicle
 White letter & number should be written in red plate.

7. Governmental Vehicle:
 The vehicle registered under any organization name.

 Red letter & number should be written in white plate

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Vehicle Characteristics…
25

8. Institutional Vehicle:
 The vehicle registered on the name of organization on

the full or half proprietorship of Nepal Government.

 Blue letter & number should be written in yellow plate.

9. Vehicle with Diplomatic Facility:

 The vehicle registered under the name of office,

organization or an individual who has got the

diplomatic facility.
 White letter & number should be written in blue plate

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Dimension of Vehicles:
26

 The type and size of vehicles influence clearances

for bridges, tunnels and parking facilities.
 NRS 2070:
Vehicle Dimension Maximum
Length 18 m
Width 2.5 m
Height 4.75 m
Single Axle Load 100 KN

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Traffic volume studies

27

 One of the fundamental measures of traffic on a road system

is the volume of traffic using the road in a given interval of
time.
 It is also termed as flow and it is expressed in vehicles per
day or vehicles per hour.
 When the traffic is composed of a number of types of
vehicles, it is the normal practice to convert the flow into
equivalent passenger car unit (PCUs), by using certain
equivalency factors.
 The flow is then expressed as PCU per day or PCU per
hour.
Er. Sabin Pokhrel
 Objective and use of traffic
volume study:
28

 It is the true measure of relative importance of roads, which is

important for improvement and expansion.
 Traffic volume is used in planning, traffic operation/control of
existing facilities and for planning new facilities.
 Classified volume is used for structural design of pavements.
 It is used to analyze traffic pattern and trends.
 It is used for design intersections, signal timings, chanalizations, and
other control devices.
 For the determination of one-way street or other regulatory measures.
 Pedestrian traffic volume is uses for planning and design of
sidewalks, subways, and pedestrian signals.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Types of Traffic Volume:
29

 Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT): expressed in vehicles per day.

It is (1/365)th of the total annual traffic flow. Total number of vehicles
passing in a year is divided by 365 days. All vehicles are converted into
passenger car unit.
 Average Daily traffic (ADT): If the flow is not measured for all the 365
days, but only for few days (less than one year) the average flow is
known as Average Daily Traffic (ADT).
 Average Annual Weekday Traffic (AAWT): is the average 24 hour
traffic volume occurring on weekdays over a full year of 52 weeks.
 Average weekday traffic: is an average 24 hour traffic volume
occurring on weekdays for some period less than one year or less than
52 weeks, such as one month or one season.
 Hourly flow: vehicle/hour
Er. Sabin Pokhrel
 Types of Traffic Count:
30

Short term counts:

 For determining traffic flow in peak hours.

 To measure saturation flow at signalized intersection

Count for full day

 To determine hourly fluctuation of flow

 Used in intersection counts

Count for full week:

 To determine hourly and daily fluctuation of flow

 For traffic survey in urban highways.

Continuous count:
 To determine fluctuation daily, weekly, seasonal and yearly flow.

 To determine annual traffic growth rate

 Very commonly used in developed countries at selected sections

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Methods of Traffic Count:
31

1) Manual count
2) Combined Manual and mechanical counter
3) Automatic devices
4) Photographic or Videographic Method.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Common error in traffic count survey and data
analysis:
32

 Not carrying out a classified traffic count

 Not distinguishing between two-way traffic data and
one-way traffic data
 Not distinguishing between directions in a traffic count
 When using an automatic traffic counter, not correcting
axle count to give vehicle count
 Incorrect converting a partial day traffic count to a full
day count
 Incorrect counting through lack of concentration

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Presentation and Analysis of Traffic volume data:
33

 Data collected during the traffic volume study are

sorted out and are presented in any of the following
forms depending upon requirements:
1) Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
2) Trend Chart:
3) Variation Chart:
4) Traffic flow at intersection shown by thick lines:
5) Traffic Flow Maps

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Trend Chart
34

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Hourly Variations:
35

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Count At Intersection
36

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Traffic Flow Map
37

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Traffic Projection Factor
38

 Normal increase in traffic volume for long term can

be expected to be about 5% compound.
 But the actual growth may vary due to
development and vehicle ownership.
 Traffic projection factor gives the ultimate volume
at the end of the design period generally taken as
20 years in terms of present traffic

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Traffic Projection Factor…
39

Following elements should be considered.

 Normal traffic growth: is the increase in traffic

volume due to increase in the number of transport

vehicle.
 Generated growth: is due to extra facility provided

 Development Traffic: is the traffic due to

improvements carried out in adjacent area.
 Current traffic: is the traffic which would

immediately use a newly constructed road.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel
 Future Traffic estimation
40

A= P(1+r)^n
 A -is the number of vehicles per day for design;

 P - Is the number of vehicles per day at the last

census;
 r – Annual rate of increase in traffic

 n – Number of years between last census and years

of consideration for design

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Models of Traffic Flow:
41

 To describe traffic flow model, a simplified

approach would be to assume that the vehicle
arrivals are uniform.
 However, this does not match the arrival pattern,
that we observe in the field.
 The observed pattern more closely follow a
Poisson’s Probability distribution

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Speed Study
42

(1) Spot speed

(2) Running speed

Running Speed = Length of Route

Running time
or Length of route Journey time-delay
(3) Journey Speed
Journey Speed = Length of the route
Journey time

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Uses of Spot Speed study
43

 Geometric design of roads

 Regulation and control of traffic operation;
 Analyzing the causes of accidents;
 Before and after study of improvement projects;
 Determining the problems of congestion in the road
section;
 Capacity study

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 General consideration for the site
selection for spot speed measurement
44

 Location selection should be according to the

specific purpose;
 Minimum influence to the traffic flow and their
speed by the survey team and equipments
 Generally straight, level and open section should
be selected.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Methods of Spot speed
measurement
45

1) Enoscope
2) Pressure contact tube
3) Radar speed-meter which automatically records
the instantaneous speed;
4) Photographic method

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Enoscope Method
46

 Simple method
 Two reference points are marked on the pavement at a suitable
distance apart and an observer starts and stops an accurate
stopwatch as a vehicle crosses these two marks.
 From the known distance and measured time intervals spot
speed is calculated;
 Large effects may occur due to the parallax effect;
 Reaction of individual observer may affect the result.
 One observer stands at the first reference point and gives
signal to the observer standing at last reference point (with
stopwatch).
Er. Sabin Pokhrel
47

Pressure contact tubes:

 In this method detectors are used to indicate the time

of entering and leaving the base length by the vehicle.

Radar speed meter:
 This automatic device works on the Doppler principle

that the speed of a moving body is proportional to the

change in frequency between the radio wave
transmitted to the moving body and the radio wave
received back. It directly measures speed.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Photographic and video camera method
48

 Time-lapse camera photography has been used to

determine the speed of the vehicles.
 In this method, photographs are taken by
projecting the film on the screen, the passage of
any vehicle can be traced with reference to time.
 Video camera also can be used to measure the
speed of the vehicle

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Presentation and analysis of spot speed data
49

Tabular presentation:
grouping of spot speeds into speed ranges to facilitate easy computation.
Graphical presentation: (Histogram and cumulative frequency curves)
Modal speed: peak of the frequency curve. (Mode of the distribution)
Median Speed: 50th percentile speed
98th percentile speed: below this speed 98% of vehicles move, and it is taken as
design speed for the geometric design.
85th percentile speed: 85% of the vehicles move below this speed. It is used to
establish upper speed limit for traffic management. It is taken as limit of safe speed
in the road.
15th percentile speed: 15% of vehicles move below this speed. It is used for
determining minimum speed limit for major highways.
Arithmetic mean or average spot speed: Summation of all variable speed divided
by the number of observations.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Grouping of data and presentation
50

 Large amount of data could be presented by

arranging them in a frequency table.
 First data should be grouped into suitable class
interval.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Travel time study (Speed and Delay
Study)
51

 Travel time study is conducted for significant

lengths of a facility or group of facilities forming a
route.
 The information on the travel time between key
points within a study area is found and is used to
identify those segments in need of improvements.
 Travel time studies are often coordinated with
delay observations at points of congestion along the
study route.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Speed and delay data can be used
52

 For traffic control selection and evaluation.

 Used for determining spots of congestion its causes

and possible remedies including required

improvements like signal timings, parking
prohibitions, turning prohibitions etc
Methods for speed & Delay study:
 Registration number plate method

 Elevated observer method

 Moving car observer method

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Traffic Flow Characteristics

53

Traffic flow maneuvers

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

54

Traffic Density:
 Number of vehicle occupying a given length of lane and

that may be in one(1) kilometer.

Origin and Destination Study ( O & D Study)
 The O & D studies of vehicular traffic determines their

numbers, design & destination in each zone under

study.
 The data may also be the number of passengers in each

vehicle , purpose of each trip, intermediate stops made

& reasons etc.
Er. Sabin Pokhrel
55

 O& D study gives information like actual direction of travel, selection of

route & length of the trip.
Purpose of O & D study: 
 Plan the road network and other facilities for vehicular traffic

 Plan the schedule of different modes of transportation for the trip demand

of commuters
 To locate major route along the desire lines 

 To determine the amount of by-passable traffic that enters a town and then

establishes the need to construct a by-passes.

 To develop trip generation and trip distribution models in transport

planning process
 To estimate future traffic by extrapolation of O-D Data plus socio economic

study

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

56

 To determine the extent to which the present

highway system is adequate and to plan for new
facilities and future lines, location of terminals
 To access the adequacy of parking facilities and plan
to future
 To establish design standards
 To locate new bridge as per traffic demand
 To locate intermediate stops of public transportation
 To locate terminals & to plan terminal facilities.
Er. Sabin Pokhrel
 Methods of O-D Survey
57

# Roadside Interview Method,

# Registration Number Method,
#Tag or Sticker Method,
#Return Post Card / or Mail Return Method,
# Home Interview Method

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

58

 Generally information recorded are :

(a) Survey station no.

(b) Date and hour,

(c) Vehicle type, and direction of travel,

(d) No. of passengers,

(e) Origin & destination

(f) Purpose of the trip.

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Parking Studies
59

 Increase in population, economic activities, urban area

and its density etc. increase the vehicular population and
the need of parking.
 A car on an average runs 400 hrs./yr. and for the rest of
8360 hrs. is parked.
 Every car wants to park as near to destination as
possible.
 Hence the biggest demand is where the activities are
concentrated or the highest congestion is.
 No busy town can claim to be parking problem free.
Er. Sabin Pokhrel
60

 Proper parking control is the key to proper traffic

control & traffic policy implementation.
 Adequate parking is an essential element of

transportation system.
 Seems to a visual evidence of town prosperity, but

the crowd of vehicles is not aesthetic.

Types of Parking:
(1) On-street Parking

(2) Off-street Parking

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Types of Parking Surveys:

61

(1) Parking Space Inventory

(2) Parking Demand & Generation Studies

Different Methods are:

(a) By Cordon Counting

(b) By counting Parked Vehicles

(c) By Interview

(d) Parking Characteristics Study

(e) Parking Usage Study

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Street regulation inventory
62

 Controlled parking:
(a) by regulation,

(b) by meters

 Parking prohibited:

(a) Always

(b) peak hours only

 Controlled loading/unloading

-Uncontrolled parking

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Off-street parking inventory
63

 Parking type:
(a) Surface,

(b) Upper level/multi storey

(c) Underground
 Ownership/use:

(a) Public owned public use,

(b) Private owned public use, and

(c) Private use only

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

64

Charges:
a. fee charging
b. free
Time limit:
c. short term/1 hr only, 2 hr. only
d. long term

Er. Sabin Pokhrel

 Traffic Studies Accident
65

 Accident is defined as a phenomenon which may occur with

or without the desire of human beings.
 In traffic engineering accident is defined as a phenomenon
which may occur with the combination of vehicular traffic/
pedestrian etc.
 It is occurring due to complex flow patterns of vehicular
traffic, presence of mixed traffic or pedestrian.
 It is counted in many forms like property damages, personnel
injuries or even causalities.
 It is quite impossible to control the accident but can be
minimized by preventing measures like design control.
Er. Sabin Pokhrel
66

Objectives of Accident Studies:

 Assess cause of accident and suggest preventive

measures.
 Evaluate existing facilities & support new

design/improvement
 Before & after studies to check effects of

improvements
 Assess loss of accidents.

  Define & identify high-accident locations

Er. Sabin Pokhrel