Design Elements

Actual and visible parts of the highways we

design

• Cross section elements

• Sight distance
• Horizontal and vertical curves
• Horizontal and vertical alignments
 Lecture 3-Sight distance

•Important design element

•although invisible
•Defined as length of roadway ahead
visible to the driver; For
• STOPPING,
• PASSING OR
• COMPLEX DECISION MAKING

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 Sight distance question
How far ahead can you see?

Under the
Horizontal
underpass
curve

Horizontal
Horizontal Horizontal
curve
curve curve

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 Sight distance question
How far ahead can you see?

Vertical curve
Horizontal curve

Vertical curve Vertical curve

 Sight Distance types

SD

Stopping Passing Decision

SSD PSD DSD

Horizontal alignment and curves Complex

Vertical alignment and curves situations

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 Stopping Sight Distance
• Stopping sight distance is defined
as the distance needed for drivers
to see an object on the roadway
ahead and bring their vehicles to
safe stop before colliding with the
object.
 Stopping Sight Distance
formulation
SSD=
Two distances

Reaction distance Breaking distance

+

SSD= +
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 PIEV or perception-reaction time time
FOUR components - PIEV Process:
• Perception time to see or discern an object or
event
• Intellection time to understand the
implications of the object’s presence or event
• Emotion time to decide how to react
• Volition time to initiate the action, for example,
the time to engage the brakes
FOR DESIGN perception-reaction times = 2.5 SEC
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 SSD Equation
 
𝑉2
𝑆𝑆𝐷 =1.47 𝑉𝑡 +
𝑎
30 ⌊ ∓𝐺 ⌋
32.2

V= design speed (mph)

t= reaction time (sec)… usually 2.5 sec
a= deceleration rate (ft/sec2); 11.2
g= gravitational force (32.2 ft/sec2)
G= gradient in %
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 Stopping Sight Distance… NOTE
• The sight distance at every point along a
roadway should be at least that needed for a
below-average driver or vehicle to stop.
• Stopping sight distance is influenced by both
vertical and horizontal alignment. For vertical
sight distance, this includes stopping sight
distance or passing sight distance at crest
vertical curves and headlight sight distance at
sag vertical curves .
Example 3.1 Distance Traveled During
Perception-Reaction Time
A driver with a perception-reaction time of 2.5
sec is driving at 65 mi/h when she observes that
an accident has blocked the road ahead.
Determine the distance the vehicle would move
before the driver could activate the brakes. The
vehicle will continue to move at 65 mi/h during
the perception-reaction time of 2.5 sec.
Example 3.5 Determining Braking Distance
A student trying to test the braking ability of her
car determined that she needed 18.5 ft more to
stop her car when driving downhill on a road
segment of 5% grade than when driving
downhill at the same speed along another
segment of 3% grade.
Determine the speed at which the student
conducted her test and the braking distance on
the 5% grade if the student is traveling at the
test speed in the uphill direction.
Example 3.6 Exit Ramp Stopping Distance
A motorist traveling at 65 mi/h on an
expressway intends to leave the expressway
using an exit ramp with a maximum speed of 35
mi/h.
At what point on the expressway should the
motorist step on her brakes in order to reduce
her speed to the maximum allowable on the
ramp just before entering the ramp, if this
section of the expressway has a downgrade of
3%?
Example 3.7 Distance Required to Stop for an
Obstacle on the Roadway
• A motorist traveling at 55 mi/h down a grade
of 5% on a highway observes a crash ahead of
him, involving an overturned truck that is
completely blocking the road.
• If the motorist was able to stop his vehicle 30
ft from the overturned truck, what was his
distance from the truck when he first
observed the crash?
• Assume perception reaction time 2.5 sec.
 Lecture 4-Sight distance Applications in
Design

•REQUIRED VERSUS DESIGN

•Horizontal Curves
•Vertical curves
•Low visibility conditions

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 Stopping Sight distance
at horizontal curves

Pakistan Motorway

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 Sight distance concepts
should we try to overtake or not?

Department of Urban and Infrastructure

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Engineering
 Sharp turn

Department of Urban and Infrastructure

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Engineering
 Mathematical formulation

07/28/2020 Department of Civil Engineering 20

Sight Distance Relationships

𝑀 𝑠=𝑅 𝑣 ¿
 

Rv  1 Rv  M s 
SSD  cos ( )
90  Rv 
 Criteria for Measuring Sight Distance
• Height of Driver’s Eye =3.5ft
• Height of Object = 2ft
 Stopping Sight Distance & Horizontal Curve
Design
• Adequate sight distance must be provided in
the design of horizontal curves
• Cost of right of way or the cost of moving
earthen materials often restrict design options
• When such obstructions exist, stopping sight
distance is checked and measured along the
horizontal curve from the center of the
traveled lane
 Sight Distance Example
Horizontal curve with 2000’ radius; 12’lanes;
60mph design speed. Determine the distance
that must be cleared from the inside edge of
the inside lane to provide sufficient stopping
sight distance.
 Sight Distance problems
• Figure below shows the cross-section of road and an
embankments running parallel to the road at a location
where the road alignment is curved. Determine the required
distance to the toe of the slope from the center line of the
lane in order to provide i) minimum Stopping Sight Distance,
ii) minimum Passing Sight Distance. Given: Design Speed, V =
90 km/hr Radius of Curve, R = 1000 m. Consider two lane
cross section with 3m lanes,

1
1

07/28/2020 Department of Civil Engineering 26

Stopping Sight Distance
Stopping Sight Distance
 Assignment - Part1
Deadline Wednesday 1st July 2019
Traffic and Highway Engineering
FOURTH EDITION
Nicholas J. Garber and Lester A. Hoel
3.20, 3.21, 3.22, 3.23

Principles of Highway Engineering and Traffic Analysis

Fifth Edition
Fred L. Mannering and Scott S. Washburn

2.30, 2.31, 2.32, 2.33, 3.42, 3.43, 3.44

 Assignment Part2
Deadline Wednesday 8th July 2019
The graph below provides two segments of SSD.
Draw similar graph for all possible combinations
of v, t, f & G

Dr. Mir Shabbar Ali

 Self Reading
• Passing sight distance
• SSD on crest vertical curves
• PSD on crest vertical curves
• SSD on sag vertical curves
• PSD on sag vertical curves
 SSD Example
Use basic assumptions to determine SSD at 60 mph on

a) 0% grade, b) 3% grade

32
 Stopping (emergency) –
SSD (Table 3-1)

Source: A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (The Green

Book). Washington, DC. American Association of State Highway and

th
Transportation Officials, 2001 4 Ed.

33
 SSD Example
Given: Available Sight distance = 430’ on a +3% grade

Find maximum speed if perception reaction time is assumed to be 2.5 seconds

2
430 feet = 1.47v(2.5 sec) + ________v ________

30({11.2/32.2} + 0.03)

2
430 feet = 3.68u + ________u ________

30(0.378)

Solving for u, u = 52.0 mph (Set speed at 50 mph)

Discuss: Would this be an acceptable condition if the road is generally posted for 60 mph?
34
 SSD Example
Given: Available Sight distance = 430’ on a +3% grade

Find maximum speed if perception reaction time is assumed to be 2.5 seconds

2
430 feet = 1.47u(2.5 sec) + ________u ________

30({11.2/32.2} + 0.03)

2
430 feet = 3.68u + ________u ________

30(0.378)

Solving for u, u = 52.0 mph (Set speed at 50 mph)

Discuss: Would this be an acceptable condition if the road is generally posted for 60 mph?
35
 Stopping Sight Distance Example
Consider analysis when vehicle skids across different
surfaces (a/g is not equal to 0.35)

Or final velocity is not zero at the end of the skid, as

evidenced because the vehicle sustains crushing
damage until the vehicle is stopped.

36
 Stopping Sight Distance

With assumed acceleration, using friction

S = PRD + Db

2 2
= 1.47vot + vo - vf

30(f ± G)
where:

terms are as before, except

vo = original velocity

vf = final velocity at impact

37
 Stopping Sight Distance Example
Accident Reconstruction:
Average Skid Mark = 47 feet
Crush damage indicates 20 to 30 mph
speed at impact
f = 0.65 (how do they know this?),
level roadway, and 40 mph posted
speed.
Was vehicle speeding?

38
 SOLUTION Stopping Sight Distance
47-foot skid represents what? BD?
Assuming final speed is 30 mph …
BD = 47 = (Vi2 – 302)/30(0.65 + 0)
Vi = 42.6 mph

If final speed is 20 mph (Vi = 36.3 mph)

What if pavement changes to gravel after 47

feet and car slides another 30 feet (f = 0.7)?
What is initial speed?
39
 Typical values for friction
Values of friction vary widely with road
surface type, age, condition. Examples:
Surface type f (or a/g)
Concrete pavement -dry 0.60 to .75
Concrete pavement – wet 0.45 to .65
Asphalt pavement 0.55 to .70
Gravel 0.40 to .70
Ice 0.05 to .20
Snow 0.30 to .60

40
07/28/2020 Department of Civil Engineering 41
 Stopping Sight Distance & Horizontal Curve
Design
• Adequate sight distance must be provided in the
design of horizontal curves
• Cost of right of way or the cost of moving earthen
materials often restrict design options
• When such obstructions exist, stopping sight distance
is checked and measured along the horizontal curve
from the center of the traveled lane
 Sight distance at an undercrossing and
curved underpasses

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Sight distance at complex decision points

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 SSD on level roadways

 Brake reaction distance predicated on a time of 2.5 s; deceleration rate of 3.4 m/s2 [11.2
ft/s2] used to determine calculated sight distance.
 SSD on grade

 These adjusted sight distance values are computed for wet-pavement conditions using the same design
speeds and brake reaction times used for level roadways in Table1.
 Variation for Trucks
• The recommended stopping sight distances are based on
passenger car.
• The larger and heavier truck, need longer stopping distances
from a given speed than passenger vehicles.

 BUT
• The truck driver is able to see substantially farther beyond
vertical sight obstructions because of the higher position of
the seat in the vehicle.
Stopping sight distance
Problems
 What is sight distance?
• Sight distance is the length of highway visible to a driver. A
safe sight distance is the distance needed by a driver on an
arterial, or a driver exiting a driveway or street, to verify that
the road is clear and avoid conflicts with other vehicles.
• Sight lines must be kept free of objects which might interfere
with the ability of drivers to see other vehicles. Features such
as hills, curves in the road, vegetation, other landscaping,
signs, and buildings can reduce sight distance.
Braking distance
 PROBLEMS

What is the distance required to stop an

average passenger car when brakes are
applied on a 2% downgrade if that vehicle was
originally traveling at 40 mi /h (40 km/h)?
 SSD equations
•   US system
SSD in ft; v in mph; t in sec.; f &G unit less

Metric system
SSD in m; v in kmph; t in sec.; f &G unit less

=
 Factors governing SSD
v= 20 mph to 80 mph;
or 30 km/h to 120 km/h

t= 0.5 sec (alert driver) to 2.5 sec (normal driver)

 Sight distance variation
90
80
70
60
50
Des speed=20mph
40 Des Speed=80mph
30
20
10
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Sight distance in low visibility
 Stopping Sight Distance
 NOTE:
• The sight distance at every point along a roadway should be at
least that needed for a below-average driver or vehicle to
stop.

• Stopping sight distance is influenced by both vertical and

horizontal alignment. For vertical sight distance, this includes
stopping sight distance or passing sight distance at crest
vertical curves and headlight sight distance at sag vertical
curves .
 Stopping Sight Distance
Sag vertical curves
• Sag vertical curves provide greater stopping sight distance
during daylight conditions, but very short sag vertical curves
will limit the effective distance of the vehicle’s headlights at
night. If lighting is provided at sag vertical curves, a design to
the driver comfort criteria may be adequate.
• The length of sag vertical curves to satisfy the comfort criteria
over the typical design speed range results in minimum curve
lengths of about half those based on headlight criteria.
 Stopping Sight Distance
• Stopping sight distance is the sum of the brake
reaction distance and the braking distance .

• Actual stopping distances are also affected by

road conditions, the mass of the car, the
incline of the road, and numerous other
factors .
Stopping Sight Distance
SSD for ordinary conditions
 Variation for Trucks
• The recommended stopping sight distances are based on
passenger car.
• The larger and heavier truck, need longer stopping distances
from a given speed than passenger vehicles.

 BUT
• The truck driver is able to see substantially farther beyond
vertical sight obstructions because of the higher position of
the seat in the vehicle.