Traffic Wisam Abdulla Najim ALHalfi
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS TRAFFIC ENGINEERING?
Traffic Engineering is that phase of engineering which 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 for the achievement of safe, efficient, and
convenient movement of persons and goods.
Traffic Engineering applies engineering principles to help solve
transportation problems, and brings into play a knowledge of psychology
and habits of users of the transportation systems.
WHY IS TRAFFIC ENGINEERING ESSENTIAL?
Many persons still wonder why a traffic problem is so difficult that an
engineer should be called upon for a solution. Why not just install a traffic
signal, or raise/lower the speed limit, or erect more signs?
One of the greatest obstacles a professional traffic engineer faces in applying
sound principles of traffic engineering is the fact that "everyone is a traffic
expert!" The unfortunate result of this attitude of expertise is the creation of
traffic hazards when false theories of individuals or groups are put into effect.
Whenever unnecessary or excessive traffic controls are installed, hazardous
traffic conditions usually result.
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Road: passageway (engineering facility) above the ground for the passage of
vehicles and pedestrians, animals and the transport of goods from one place
to another. Roads have evolved from the corridors dirt and stone roads, the
asphalt paved roads, multi-lane roads and concrete.
Types roads:
Roads are classified into three main categories are: highways and urban and
rural roads.
1. Highways: a multi-lane Usually, the two-way traffic, and separated by
a comma in the middle carrot, and the volume of traffic on a major,
and subject to the control system at the entrances. And the intersections
of Highway more than the level of the roads, and the entry and exit of
them mediated ramps adapters, operating at maximum capacity, and on
the sides of highways positions of emergency (emergency parkings),
and are passing the intersections using bridges and tunnels, and
implement these roads, according to high standards, and linking the
major cities neighboring countries.
2. Urban roads: consists of several lanes, and the two-way traffic.
Covering the cities and suburbs and are used by private cars, public
traffic, bicycles and pedestrians, and also used to pass the service
lines, and sidewalks on both sides of the pedestrian traffic side walk,
and can be classified into three types:
A. urban local streets: There are in residential, commercial and industrial
sites, and at the entrances of adjacent land, consisting of several lanes,
and includes parking on the sides.
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B. urban collector streets: a movement of traffic from local streets to
arterial streets, and consists of two lanes or more, and are separated by
a median sometimes.
C. streets urban arterial: and the volume of traffic on the largest, used in
large cities, it looks like a highway, in terms of fit on two lane passage
or more, and have access to and exit from the neighboring land through
adapters, and there on the aspects of the positions of emergency.
3. Rural roads: outside cities in the surrounding villages and towns, and
is divided into:
A. Local rural roads serving individual properties and farms, and can be
unpaved, usually composed of two-lane road.
B. Collector rural roads and the traffic will be higher and faster, so it
is built in accordance with the specifications better than its predecessor.
C. Rural arterial roads for traffic between the main towns in rural areas. It
can be two or more lane. And contain side shoulders, and be the traffic
it faster.
Vehicles:
Vehicles are classified into three main categories according to the American
Association:
1. Passenger car: including taxis and small saloon and a bus (11
passengers) and light-load vehicles (pickup).
2. Heavy goods Vehicle : vehicles, which owns more than 4 wheels
touching the surface paving include trucks transporting goods and
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public service vehicles (municipality vehicles and sewer ...),
agricultural tractors.
3. Buses: Vehicles designed to transport a large number of passengers (at
least 16 passengers), a public transport vehicles for the transport of
schools and students and tourist vehicles.
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HOW DOES THE TRAFFIC ENGINEER SOLVE TRAFFIC
PROBLEMS?
The role of the traffic engineer may be compared to that of the medical
profession in protecting the public. As a trained professional he/she looks at
the symptoms, and in order to make a competent diagnosis she/he takes
traffic counts, analyzes accident statistics, studies speed data, examines
roadway conditions, conducts research, and studies what other professionals
are doing and the results they have achieved.
Just as the doctor's decision is accepted in matters regarding health, even
though the medicine may be bitter or the needle painful, so should the
decision of the, professional traffic engineer be given the prime consideration.
HOW DOES THE TRAFFIC ENGINEER PROMOTE SAFER
TRAFFIC OPERATION?
By providing roadway conditions that contribute to smooth and efficient
traffic flow. Experience has shown that safety goes hand-in-hand with smooth
traffic operation. Disrupting the smooth flow of traffic increases the
probability of accidents.
Erratic traffic operation may be caused by vehicles stopping or slowing in the
roadway, passing and weaving maneuvers, or surprise elements. For example,
unwarranted traffic signals, unreasonably low speed limits, and too many
signs may cause driver confusion and indecision.
Slower speed does not necessarily mean safer traffic operation.
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Traffic stream parameters :
The traffic stream includes a combination of driver and vehicle behavior.
The driver or human behavior being non-uniform, traffic stream is also non-
uniform in nature. It is influenced not only by the individual characteristics of
both vehicle and human but also by the way a group of such units interacts
with each other. Thus a flow of traffic through a street of defined
characteristics will vary both by location and time corresponding to the
changes in the human behavior.
The traffic engineer, but for the purpose of planning and design, assumes that
these changes are within certain ranges which can be predicted.
For example,if the maximum permissible speed of a highway is 60 kmph, the
whole traffic stream can be assumed to move on an average speed of 40 kmph
rather than 100 or 20 kmph.
Thus the traffic stream itself is having some parameters on which the
characteristics can be predicted. The parameters can be mainly classified as :
measurements of quantity, which includes density and flow of traffic and
measurements of quality which includes speed. The traffic stream parameters
can be macroscopic which characterizes the traffic as a whole or microscopic
which studies the behavior of individual vehicle in the stream with respect to
each other.
As far as the macroscopic characteristics are concerned, they can be grouped
as measurement of quantity or quality as described above, i.e. flow, density,
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and speed. While the microscopic characteristics include the measures of
separation, i.e. the headway or separation between vehicles which can be
either time or space headway. The fundamental stream characteristics are
speed, flow, and density and are discussed below.
The chances of a driver becoming involved in an accident are least when
he/she is traveling at the average Simulation models are typically classified
according to the level of detail at which they represent the traffic stream.
These include:
Microscopic Models:
These models simulate the characteristics and interactions of individual
vehicles. They essentially produce trajectories of vehicles as they move
through the network. The processing logic includes algorithms and rules
describing how vehicles move and interact, including acceleration,
deceleration, lane changing, and passing maneuvers.
Mesoscopic Models:
These models simulate individual vehicles, but describe their activities and
interactions based on aggregate (macroscopic) relationships. Typical
applications of mesoscopic models are evaluations of traveler information
systems. For example, they can simulate the routing of individual vehicles
equipped with in-vehicle, real-time travel information systems. The travel
times are determined from the simulated average speeds on the network links.
The average speeds are, in turn, calculated from a speed-flow relationship.
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Macroscopic Models:
These models simulate traffic flow, taking into consideration aggregate traffic
stream characteristics (speed, flow, and density) and their relationships.
Typically, macroscopic models employ equations on the conservation of flow
and on how traffic disturbances (shockwaves) propagate in the system. They
can be used to predict the spatial and temporal extent of congestion caused by
traffic demand or incidents in a network; however, they cannot model the
interactions of vehicles on alternative design configurations.
Microscopic models are potentially more accurate than macroscopic
simulation models. However, they employ many more parameters that
require calibration. Also, the parameters of the macroscopic models (e.g.,
capacity) are observable in the field. Most of the parameters of the
Microscopic models cannot be observed directly in the field (e.g., minimum
distances between vehicles in car-following situations).
Note:
The example and the important notes will be given in the class.
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