Civil Engineering

1. Introduction to Traffic
Engineering

2. Objectives of course
 Help students lay solid foundation of
traffic engineering as a whole
 Help students get general knowledge of
traffic engineering from both theory and
practice
 Lead students to traffic/transportation
professional world

3. Some Basic Statistics,
 Over 158.5 million US drivers drove over 1.86 trillion
vehicle-miles in over 172 million regulated vehicles
 47,000 people were killed in highway accidents, with a
rate of 2.57 deaths/100 million vehicle-miles of travel
 State and local highway user taxes generated over
$40.6 billion

4. Pakistan
 Every year more than 0.5 million people are killed (about one
life in every minute) & more than 10-million people injured in
road accidents.
 PAKISTAN is on the 7-th position in fatal accidents for every
10,000 vehicles.
 Road accidents can not be totally prevented but by suitable
traffic engineering measures the accident rates can be
decreased.
 The role of traffic engineer is to carry out systematic accident
studies to investigate the causes of accidents and to suggest
the remedial measures.

5. Bar chart shows the position of PAKISTAN.

6. 3. 2
3. 8
4. 2
2. 124
0
0. 5
1
1. 5
2
2. 5
3
3. 5
4
4. 5
1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2010
系列1
系列2
系列3
t r end 1
t r end 2
t r end 3
mi l l i on
Trend forecast for auto development in Beijing

7. Crisis in Serving the Growing
Urban Traffic Demand
 Traffic demand is growing
additional ROW is limited due to financial,
space, and social reasons
 Current use of ROW do not allow capacity
improvements of the magnitude needed to meet
the future demand

8. Urban Traffic Demand

9. 3. 2
3. 8
4. 2
2. 124
0
0. 5
1
1. 5
2
2. 5
3
3. 5
4
4. 5
1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2010
系列1
系列2
系列3
t r end 1
t r end 2
t r end 3
mi l l i on
Trend forecast for auto development in Beijing

10. Traffic Problems
 Grid lock – capacity problem
 Pot holes – road
maintenance problem
 Construction barrels – foreign
object on road
 Poor drivers – driver behavior

11. Traffic Problems
 Roadway drainage – drainage system
problem
 Gawkers – inattentive drivers
 Roadway geometry problem –
deficiency in geometric design
 Environmental problem

12. Traffic Crash Problem
 Traffic crashes
 Fatalities – persons killed
 Injuries – having injuries of various
severities
 Property damages – only a damage to the
vehicle without injury

13. Challenges Traffic Engineers Face
 Change in notion from increasing capacity to
meet demand to managing the movement of
vehicle and people
 Ever-increasing congestion
 Safety and security of transportation facilities
 Technologically sound solutions may not be
socially acceptable (staggering of work time;
public transit)

14. Congestion on Roadway of Beijing

15. Evacuation before hurricane
in Houston, USA, 2005
9.11 event in 2001, USA

16. Traffic paralysis due to snow
storm in southern China 2008

17. 1. Definition, scope and goal
 Definition of Traffic Engineering ---
 It is the phase of transportation
engineering that deals with the
planning, geometric design and traffic
operations of roads, streets and
highways, their networks, terminals,
abutting lands, and relationships with
other modes of transportation

18. Traffic Engineering
defined as that phase of engineering
which deals with the safe and efficient
movement of people and goods on
streets and highways.

19.  Transportation mode includes: land, rail,
water,air and pipe (refer to Table 1.1 on page
8-9)
 The focus of this course is on surface (land)
transportation and connection with other
modes

20.  Scope of Traffic Engineering --- surface
(land ) transportation; relationships and
connection with other modes of transportation
 Major modes of surface transportation ---
automobile, bus, truck and bike

21.  Goal of Traffic Engineering --- explore how
to provide for the safe, rapid, comfortable,
convenient, economical, and
environmentally compatible movement of
people and goods.

Safe --- public safety

Rapid --- time value and customer service

Comfortable/convenient --- level of service

Economical --- social cost

Environmental --- clean air and sustainability

Movement = mobility

22. Main Elements in Traffic Engineering
 Traffic studies --- data collection and
reduction
 Performance evaluation --- set of criteria to
measure the quality of traffic performance
 Facility design --- functional and geometric
designs
 Traffic control --- establishment of traffic
regulation and their communication to the
driver through signs, markings, and signals

23.  Traffic operations --- traffic
organization, transit operation,
 TSM --- Transportation Systems
Management
 ITS --- Intelligent Transportation
Systems

24. 8. References
 ITE --- Institute of Transportation Engineers
 TRB --- Transportation Research Board
 ASCE --- American Society of Civil Engineers
 MUTCD --- Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
 HCM 2000--- Highway Capacity Manual
 AASHTO Green Book --- American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials named a
book titled “A Police on the Geometric Design of
Highway and Street”
 The Traffic Engineering Handbook
 Trip Generation Handbook 2000
 Access Management Manual 2003

25. Traffic Control Devices

26. Traffic Control Devices

27. Overview
 Traffic control device is the medium used for
communicating between traffic engineer
and road users.
 Unlike other modes of transportation, there is no
control on the drivers using the road.
 Here traffic control devices comes to the help of the
traffic engineer.

28. Traffic Control Devices
Communication of traffic laws
and regulations to drivers by
means of control devices:
 Signs
 Signals
 Markings

29. Standards and Guidelines
Manual of Uniform Traffic
Control Devices (MUTCD)
• Federal MUTCD
• State MUTCD

30. Requirements of a
Traffic Control Device
 Fulfill a need
 Command attention
 Convey a clear, simple meaning
 Command respect of road users
 Give adequate time for proper
response

31. Considerations to insure
the requirements
 Design
 Placement
 Operation
 Maintenance
 Uniformity

32. Using the Manual
 Manual provides the standards and
guidelines, but it is not a substitute for
engineering decision
 Definitions need careful attention:
 Shall – mandatory condition
 Should – advisory condition
 May – permissive condition

33. General Color Coding
 Yellow – general warning
 Red – stop or prohibition
 Blue – motorist services guidance and
evacuation route
 Green – Direction guidance
 Brown – recreational and cultural interest
guidance
 Orange – construction and maintenance
warning
 Black – regulation
 White – regulation

34. Signs
Three major categories:
 Regulatory – give notice of traffic
laws or regulations
 Warning – call attention to conditions
that are potentially hazardous
 Guide – show route designations,
destinations, directions, distances,
services, and such information

35. Regulatory Signs
notice of traffic law and regulations
 Right-of-way – STOP, YIELD
 Speed Control
 Movement Control
 Parking
 Pedestrian
 Miscellaneous

36. Warning Signs
direct attention to condition on highway of potential hazards
 Changes in horizontal alignment
 Intersections
 Advance warning of control devices
 Converging traffic lanes
 Narrow roadways
 Changes in highway design
 Grades
 Roadway surface conditions
 Railroad crossings
 Miscellaneous others

37. Guide Signs
indicate rout designation, direction, distances and other
geographic information.
 Route marker assemblies
 Directional information signs
 Services information signs
 Cultural information signs

38. Construction and
Maintenance Signs
 Warning signs in black on an orange
background
 Directional signs and street names in
conjunction with a detour in black on an
orange background

39. Changeable Message Signs
 Designed to display variable messages
 Accident
 Congestion
 Detour
 Enforcement and Public Safety
Information
 Approx. time to reach a destination
 Other temporary warnings

40. Sign Illumination

41. Retroreflection

42. Shape of Signs

43. Sign Colors

44. Regulatory Sign

45. STOP Sign
Not less than
1.8 m
(6 ft)
Notlessthan
1.5m
(5ft)

46. Location of STOP and YIELD
Sign

47. Location of STOP Sign

48. Typical One Way Signing for
Divided Highways
Median < 30 ft.

49. Speed Limit Sign
Notlessthan
2.1m
(7ft)
Not
less
than
0.6
m
(2 ft)

50. Warning Signs

51. Warning Signs

52. Curve Warning Sign
Not less than
1.8 m
(6 ft)
Notlessthan
1.5m
(5ft)

53. Warning With Advisory Speed
Not less
than
1.8 m
(6 ft)
Notlessthan
1.2m
(4ft)

54. Island Warning Sign
Notlessthan
2.1m
(7ft)
Notlessthan
1.2m
(4ft)

55. Application of Warning Signs

56. Application of Warning Signs

57. Application of Warning Signs

58. Guide Signs

59. Guide Signs

60. Guide Signs
Not
less
than
1.8 m
(6 ft)
Not
less
than
1.5
m
(5ft)

61. END