UNIT-II

TRAFFIC SURVEYS AND ANALYSIS

Traffic surveys are carried out to analyses the traffic characteristics. These studies help in
deciding the geometric design feature and traffic control for safe and efficient traffic movements.
Traffic surveys for collecting traffic data are also called traffic census.

Methods of Measurements:

a. Measurement at a point of road

b. Measurement over short section of road
c. Measurement over long section of road
d. Moving observer method

The various traffic surveys generally carried out are:

1. Traffic volume count survey
2. Speed studies
a. Spot speed studies
b. Speed and delay studies
3. Origin and destination survey
4. Parking survey
5. Accident studies
6. Traffic flow characteristics
7. Traffic capacity studies

1.TRAFFIC VOLUME COUNT SURVEY

Traffic volume is the number of vehicles crossing a section of road per unit time at any
selected period. The usesof traffic volume survey are given below:
1. Traffic volume survey is used in planning, traffic operation and control of existing
facilities and also for planning and designing the new facilities.
2. This survey is used in the analysis of traffic patterns and trends.
3. Volume distribution study is used in planning one-way streets and other regulatory
measures.
 4. It is used for design of intersections, in planning signal timings, channelization and other
control devices.
5. Classified volume count survey is useful in structural design of pavements, in geometric
design and in computing roadway capacity.
6. Pedestrian volume study is used for planning sidewalks, cross walks, subways and
pedestrian signals.
7. To determine the traffic flow or traffic in the peak hour.

Methods Available For Traffic Counts

The available for traffic volume counts are listed below:
1. Manual count
2. Mechanical count
3. Combination of manual and mechanical methods
4. Automatic devices(pneumatic tube, photo electric cells, magnetic detectors and radar
detectors)
5. Photographic methods

1.Manual counts

This method employs a field team to record traffic volume on the prescribed record
sheets. The number of observers needed to count the vehicles depends upon the number of lanes
in the highway on which the count is to be taken and the type of information desired. However it
is not practicable to have counts for all the 24 hours of the day and on all days round the year.
Equipment needed:
The following equipment is needed for manual counts,
1. A watch
2. Pencils or pen
3. Supply of blank field data sheet with clip board
The advantages of manual methods and situations where these are to be preferred are:
1. Data accumulated by manual methods are easy to analyse.
2. Manual methods are suitable for short-term and non-continuous counts.
3. Details such as vehicle classification and number of occupants can be easily obtained.
 4. Specific vehicular movements such as left turns, right turns, straight ahead etc.at a
junction can be noted and recorded.
5. Even if automatic devices are used, it is often necessary to check the accuracy of these
devices periodically and manual methods are serving this purpose.
Disadvantages of manual methods:
It is not practicable to have counts for all the 24 hours of the day and on all days round
the year.
The data’s are not fully accurate due to some manual errors.

Mechanical counts:
The method employs a field team to record traffic volume on the prescribed
record sheets. By this method it is possible to obtain data which can not be collected by
mechanical counters, such as vehicle classification, turning movements and counts where
loading conditions or numbers of occupants are required.
However it is not practicable to have counts 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 complete counts, first the fluctuations of traffic
volume during the hours of the day and the daily variations are observed. Then by statistical
analysis the peak hourly traffic volume as well as average daily traffic volumes are calculated.

Combination of Manual and Mechanical Method:

An example of a combination of manual and mechanical method is the multiple pen recorder. A
chart moves continuously at the speed of a clock. Different pens record the occurrence of
different events on the chart. The main advantage of this method is
(i) A permanent record is kept arrival of each class of vehicle. The classification and
vehicle count performed simultaneously.
(ii) Additional information such as time headways between successive vehicles and
the arrival per unit time become available.
Automatic devices:
 Photo electric cells
 Magnetic detector and
 Radar detectors
 Pneumatic tube
 Electric contact
 Co axial cable
Photographic method:
In this method, the video camera stationed on the top of an elevated building select
vehicles at random and follow their course along the road, noting the number of vehicles entering
the test section. This method useful for studying short test sections like intersection etc.

Presentation of traffic volume data:

1. Average Annual Daily Traffic(AADT) : The average 24-hour traffic volume at a given
location over a full 365-day year, i.e. the total number of vehicles passing the site in a year
divided by 365.
2. Average Annual Weekday Traffic(AAWT) : The average 24-hour traffic volume occurring on
weekdays over a full year. It is computed by dividing the total weekday traffic volume for the
year by 260.
3. Average Daily Traffic(ADT) : An average 24-hour traffic volume at a given location for
some period of time less than a year. It may be measured for six months, a season, a month, a
week, or as little as two days. An ADT is a valid number only for the period over which it was
measured.
4. Average Weekday Traffic(AWT) : An average 24-hour traffic volume occurring on weekdays
for some period of time less than one year, such as for a month or a season.
PCU(passenger car unit): It is 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 or PCU.

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.
SPOT SPEED
Spot speed is the instantaneous speed of a vehicle at a specified location.
Uses:
Spot speed study may be useful in any of the following aspects of traffic.
1. Spot speed can be used to design the geometry of road like horizontal and vertical
curves, super elevation etc. Location and size of signs, design of signals, safe speed, and
speed zone determination, require the spot speed data.
2. Accident analysis, road maintenance, and congestion are the modern fields of traffic
engineer, which uses spot speed data as the basic input.
3. To use in planning traffic control and in traffic regulations.
Spot speed can be measured using an enoscope, pressure contact tubes or direct timing
procedure or radar speedometer or by time-lapse photographic methods.
Spot speed by enoscope method:
It is one of the simplest methods of finding spot speed is by using enoscope which 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 starts a stopwatch
when a vehicle crosses that section an enoscope is placed at a convenient distance of say 30m 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 stop watch is stopped.
The main advantage of this method is that it is a simple and cheap equipment and is easy to use.
The greatest disadvantage is that the progress is so flow as it is difficult to spot out typical
vehicles and the number of samples observed will be les. There is also a possibility of human
error.
 Fig.1 Spot Speed by Enoscope
Other equipment used:
Graphic recorder
Photo electric meter
Speed meter
Photographic method
radar
Running speed:
Running speed is the average speed maintained over a particular course while the vehicle
is moving and is found by dividing the length of the course by the time duration the vehicle was
in motion.(EXCLUIDING DELAY)
Journey speed:
Journey speed is the effective speed of the vehicle on a journey between two points and is
the distance between the two points divided by the total time taken for the vehicle to complete
the journey including any stopped time.(INCLUDING DELAY)
Time mean speed:
Time mean speed is defined as the average speed of all the vehicles passing a point on a
highway over some specified time period.
Space mean speed:
Space mean speed is defined as the average speed of all the vehicles occupying a given
section of a highway over some specified time period.
The space mean speed is slightly lower than time mean speed under typical conditions
on rural highways.(GATE qus)

Average speed:
It is the average of the spot speeds of all vehicles passing a given point on the highway.
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 amount, location, duration frequency and causes of the delay in traffic
stream. The results of the speed and delay studies are useful in detecting the spots of
congestion, the causes and in arriving at a suitable remedial measure. The studies are also
utilized in finding the travel time and benefit cost analysis.
The delay or the time lost by traffic during the travel time period may be either due to
fixed delays and operational delays. Fixed delay occurs primarily at intersections due to traffic
signals and at level crossings. Operational delays are caused by interference of traffic
movements, such as turning vehicles, parking and imparking vehicles, pedestrians etc., and by
internal friction in the traffic stream due to high traffic volume, insufficient capacity and by
accidents.
They are various methods of carrying out speed and delay study,namely:
1. Moving observer method or Floating car method
2. License plate or vehicle number method
3. Interview method
4. Elevated observations, and
5. Photographic technique

Moving observer method

 In the floating car methods a test vehicle is driven over a given course of travel at
approximately the average speed of the stream, thus trying to float 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 or moving car with two stop watches. One of the
stop watches is used to record the time at various control points like intersections, bridges or any
other fixed points in each trip.
The other stop watch is used to find the duration of individual delays.
The time, location and causes of these delays are recorded by using suitable tabular forms
or by voice recording equipment.
The number of vehicle overtaking the test vehicle and that overtaken by test vehicles are
noted in each trip by third observer.
The number of vehicles travelling in the opposite direction in each trip is noted by the a
fourth observer. However in mixed traffic flow, more number of observers will be required to
count the vehicles of different classes.
The average journey time t(minute) for all the vehicles in a traffic stream in the direction
of flow q is given by:
t = tw – ny/q
q = (na+ny)/(ta+tw)
where,
q= flow of vehicles (volume per minute),in one direction of the stream
na = avg number of vehicles counted in the direction of the stream when the test vehicle in the
opposite direction
ny= avg number of vehicles overtaking the test vehicle minus the number of vehicles overtaken
when the test vehicle in the direction of q
tw = avg journey time, in minute when the test vehicle travelling is travelling with stream q
ta= avg journey time, in minute when the test vehicle is running against the stream.

License Plate Method

 In license plate method, synchronized stop 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 timings and the vehicle numbers are noted by the observers of the
selected samples. From the office computations travel time of each vehicles 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.
Interview method
In the Interview technique, the work completed in a short time by interviewing and
collecting details from the road users on the spot. However data collected may not provide with
all details correctly.
Elevated Observation and Photographic Technique
In this method, the observers stationed on the top of an elevated building select vehicles
at random and follow their course along the road, noting the time of entering the test section,
duration and nature of delays suffered and time of leaving. This method useful for studying short
test sections like intersection etc.

PARKING SURVEYS:
There are three major types of parking surveys. They are
1. 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.
2. 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 1
hour, the count is again taken. Here there are chances of missing the number of vehicles that
were parked for a short duration.
3. 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 intervalis shorter,
then there are less chances of missing short-term parkers. But this method is very labour
intensive.
PROHIBITED PARKINGS
 Near intersections
 Narrow streets
 Pedestrian crossings
 Entrance driveways
 Structures such as bridges, tunnel and underpasses

DESIGN OF PARKING FACILITY

The parking facilities may be broadly classified into two types:
 On street parking
 Off street parking

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 5.0mx
2.5m and that for a truck is 3.75m x 7.5m .
1. Parallel parking: The vehicles are parked along the length of the road. Here there is no
backward movement involved while parking or unparking the vehicle. Hence it is the most safest
parking from the accident perspective. But it consumes the maximum curb length and therefore
only a minimum number of vehicles can be parked for a given kerb length. Since it consumes
least width of the road it produces least obstruction to the on-going traffic on the road.
2. 30°parking: Here more vehicles can be parked compared to parallel parking. Also there is
better maneuverability. It causes minimum delay to traffic.
3. 45°parking: As the angle of parking increases, more number of vehicles can be parked. Hence
compared to parallel and thirty degree parking, more number of vehicles can be accommodated
in this type of parking.
4. 60° parking: Here also more number of vehicles can be accommodated.
5. Right angle parking: Here the vehicles are parked perpendicular to the direction of the road.
Hence itconsumes maximum width. Curb length required is very little. Hence there are chances
of severe accidents. Also it causes obstruction to the road traffic. But it can accommodate
maximum number of vehicles.
Advantages of on street parking:
1. Angle parking is more convenient for the motorists than the parallel parking.
2. From the point of view of maneuverability, angle parking seems to be better than parallel
parking which usually involves backing motion.
3. Delay to traffic is minimum with angle parking
4. Parallel parking makes the least use of the width of the street, and this is an important
consideration in narrow streets.
Disadvantages of on street parking:
 Congestion: By parking, there will be loss in the street space which leads 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 maneuvering 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.
 Obstruction to firefighting operations: Parked vehicles may obstruct the movement of
fire fighting vehicles. Sometimes they block access to hydrants and access to buildings.
 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 creates a feeling that building rises from a plinth of cars.
Off street parking

When the parking facility is provided at a separate place away from the kerb, it is known
as off street parking. There will be some area 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.

The different types of off-street parking facilities commonly considered are:

 Surface car parks
  Paring lots
 Multi-storey car parks
 Under ground car parks
 Roof parks
 Mechanical parks

Fig.1 OFF STREET PARKING

Advantages of off street parking:
 The main advantage of this method is that there is no undue congestion, accidents,
environmental pollution and delay on the road as in on street parking.
 It gives good safety for the parking vehicles.
Disadvantages of off street parking:
 Main drawback of this method is, the owners will have to walk greater distance after
parking the vehicle.
 It is also not possible to provide the off street parking facility at very close intervals
especially in business centers of a city.

Parking statistics:
Parking accumulation: It is defined as the number of vehicles parked at a given instant of time.
Normally this is expressed by accumulation curve. Accumulation curve is the graph obtained by
plotting the number of bays occupied with respect to time.
Parking volume: Parking volume is the total number of vehicles parked at a given duration of
time.
Parking load : Parking load gives the area under the accumulation curve. It can also be obtained
bysimply multiplying the number of vehicles with the time interval. It is expressed as vehicle
hours.
Average parking duration: It is the ratio of total vehicle hours to the number of vehicles
parked.
Parking turnover: It is the ratio of number of vehicles parked in a duration to the number of
parking bays available.
Parking index: Parking index is also called occupancy or efficiency. It is defined as the ratio of
number of bays occupied in a time duration to the total space available. It gives an aggregate
measure of how effectively the parking space is utilized. Parking index can be found out as
follows:
Parking Index= parking load /parking capacity x100
Origin and destination studies
The origin and destination survey carried out mainly due to
(i) plan the road network facilities for vehicular traffic, and
(ii) plan the schedule of different modes of transportation for the trip demand of commuters
(iii) to locate the intermediate stops
(iv) to establish the design standards for the road, bridges and culverts along the route
(v) to locate the terminals and plan the terminal facilities
(vi) to plan the transportation system and mass transit facilities in cities including routes and
schedules of operation
(vii) to judge adequacy of existing routes and to use in planning new networks of roads.

There are a number of method for collecting the O-D data. Some of the methods are commonly
adopted are:
1. Roadside interview method
 2. License plate method
3. Return post card method
4. Tag on car method
5. Home interview method
6. Work spot interview method
Road side interview method
The vehicles are stopped at previously decided interview stations by a group of persons
and answer to prescribed questionnaire are collected on the spot. The information collected
include the place and time of origin and destination, route, location of stoppages, the purpose of
trip, type of vehicle and numbers of passenger in each vehicle.
In this method the data is collected quickly in short duration and the field organization is
simple and the team can be trained quickly. The main drawback of this method is that vehicles
stopped for interview, and there is delay to the vehicular movement.

CAPACITY AND LEVEL OF SERVICE

Overview
Capacity and Level of service are two related terms. Capacity analysis tries to give a clear
understanding of how much flow much traffic a given transportation facility can accommodate.
Level of service tries to answer how much flow good is the present traffic situation on a given
facility. Thus it gives a qualitative measure of traffic, whereas capacity analysis gives a
quantitative measure of a facility. Capacity and level of service varies with the type of facility,
prevailing traffic and road conditions etc. These concepts are discussed in this chapter.
License plate method
The entire area under study is cordoned out and the observers are simultaneously
stationed at all points of entry and exit on all the routes leading to out of the area.
Each party at the observation station is given synchronized time pieces and they note the
license plate numbers (registration numbers) of the vehicles entering and leaving the cordoned
area and the time.
Separate recording sheets are maintained for each direction of movement for a specified
time interval. After collecting the field data major work remains of the office computations and
analysis, by tracking each vehicle number and its time of entering and leaving the cordon area.
 This method is quite easy and quick as far as the field work concerned. The field
organization can also be trained quickly. However, this method is quite advantageous when the
area under consideration is small, like a large intersection or a small business center.

Return post card method

Pre-paid reply post cards with return address are distributed to the road users at some
selected points along the route or the cards are mailed to the owners of vehicles. The
questionnaire to be filled by road user is printed on the card, along with a request for co-
operation and purpose of the study. The distributing stations for the cards may be selected where
vehicles have to stop as in case of a toll booth.
The method is suitable where the traffic is heavy. The personnel need not be skilled or
trained just distributing the cards. The only a draw back of this method is part of the road users
may return the cards promptly after filling in the desire details properly and correctly.
Tag on car method
In this method a pre-coded card stuck on the vehicles as its enters the area under study.
When the car leaves cordon area the other observations are recorded on the tag. This method is
useful where the traffic is heavy and moves continuously. But the method gives only information
regarding the points of entry and exit and the time taken to traverse the area.
Home interview method
A random sample of 0.5 to 10 percent of the population it selected and the residences are
visited by trained personal who collect the travel data from each member of the household. The
data collected may be useful either for planning the road network and other facilities for the
vehicular traffic or for planning the mass transportation requirement of passengers.
Work spot interview method
The transportation needs of work trip can be planned by collecting the O & D data at
work spots like the offices, factories, educational institutions, etc.by personal interview.

ACCIDENT STUDIES
The traffic accidents may involve property damages, personal injuries or even casualities.
One of the main objective of traffic engineering is to provide safe traffic movements.
 Road accident cannot be totally prevented, but suitable traffic engineering and
management measures, the accident rate can be considerably decreases. Therefore the traffic
engineer has to carryout systematic accident studies to investigate the causes of accidents and to
take preventive measures in terms of design and control.
The objective of the accident studies may be listed below:
 To study the causes of accidents and to suggest corrective treatment at potential location,
 To evaluate the existing design
 To support the proposed designs
 To carryout the before and after studies and to demonstrate the improvement in the
problem
 To make computations of financial loss
There are four basic elements in a traffic accident:
 The road users
 The vehicles
 The roads and its condition and
 Environmental factor-traffic, weather etc.
Causes of accidents
Road users: excessive speed and rash driving, careless ,violation of rules and regulations, failure
to see or understand the traffic situations, signs or signal, temporary effect due to fatigue, sleep
or alcohol.
Vehicles defects:Failure of brakes, steering system, and lighting system etc.,
Road condition: Skidding road surface, pot holes, ruts and other damaged conditions of the road
surfaces.
Road design:defective geometric design like inadequate sight distance, inadequate width of
shoulders, improper curve design, improper lighting and improper control devices.
Environmental factor: unfavorable weather condition like mist, fog, snow, dust, smoke and
heavy rainfall which restrict the normal visibility and render driving unsafe.

TYPES OF ACCIDENTS:
 Fatal accident
 Grievous injury accidents
  Slightly injured accidents
 Minor injury accidents
 Non-injury accidents
Fatal accidents: An accident in which one or more persons were killed.
Grievous injury accident: Accidents in which persons were grievously injured. For example
permanent disfigurement of head or face.
Slightly injured accidents: Persons who have sustained only minor injuries or bruises or
sprains.
Minor injury accidents: Accidents in which persons received only minor injuries.
Non-injury accidents: Accidents in which no one was killed or injured.

COLLISION DIAGRAM:
A collision diagram is the schematic representation of all accidents occurring at a particular
location.
Nature of collision:
Different types of collision are,
 Head on collision
 Rear end collision
 Side swipe collision
 Right angle collision
 Right turn collision
 Fixed object collision
 Out of control collision
CAPACITY
Capacity is defined as the maximum number of vehicles, passengers, or the like, per
unit time, which can be accommodated under given conditions with a reasonable
expectation of occurrence.

Highway capacity
 Highway capacity is defined by the Highway Capacity Manual as the maximum hourly
rate at which persons or vehicles can be reasonably expected to traverse a point or a uniform
segment of a lane or roadway during a given time period under prevailing roadway, traffic and
control conditions. The highway capacity depends on
certain conditions as listed below;
1.Traffic conditions:It refers to the traffic composition in the road such as the mix of cars,
trucks,buses etc in the stream. It also include peaking characteristics, proportions of turning
movements at intersections etc.
2. Road way characteristics: This points out to the geometric characteristics of the road. These
include lane width, shoulder width, lane configuration, horizontal alignment and vertical
alignment.
3. Control conditions: This primarily applies to surface facilities and often refer to the signals at
intersections etc.

Level of service
A term closely related to capacity and often confused with it is service volume. When
capacity gives a quantitative measure of traffic, level of service or LOS tries to give a qualitative
measure. A service volume is the maximum number of vehicles, passengers, or the like, which
can be accommodated by a given facility or system under given conditions at a given level of
service.
For a given road or facility, capacity could be constant. But actual flow will be different
for different days and different times in a day itself. The intention of LOS is to relate the traffic
service quality to a given flow rate of traffic. It is a term that designates a range of operating
conditions on a particular type of facility.
Highway capacity manual (HCM) developed by the transportation research board of USA
provides some procedure to determine level of service. It divides the quality of traffic into six
levels ranging form level A to level F. Level A represents the best quality of traffic where the
driver has the freedom to drive with free flow speed and level F represents the worst quality of
traffic. Level of service is defined based on the measure of effectiveness or (MOE).
Typically three parameters are used under this and they are speed and travel time,
density, and delay. One of the important measures of service quality is the amount of time spent
in travel. Therefore, speed and travel time are considered to be more effective in defining LOS of
a facility. Density gives the proximity of other vehicles in the stream.
Since it affects the ability of the driver to maneuver in the traffic stream, it is also used to
describe LOS.Delay is a term that describes excess or unexpected time spent in travel. Many
specific delay measures are defined and used as MOE's in the highway capacity manual.
Factors affecting level of service
Level of service was introduced in Highway capacity manual(HCM) to denote the level of
service one can derive from a road under different operating characteristics and traffic volumes.
The factors affecting level of service (LOS) can be listed as follows:
1. Speed and travel time
2. Traffic interruptions/restrictions
3. Freedom to travel with desired speed
4. Driver comfort and convenience
5. Operating cost