CE 515 TRANSPORTATION

ENGINEERING
ENGR. AMADEUS B. PALOMATA
What is TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING?

Transportation engineering or transport engineering is

the application of technology and scientific principles to
the planning, functional design, operation and
management of facilities for any mode of transportation
in order to provide for the safe, efficient, rapid,
comfortable, convenient, economical, and
environmentally compatible movement of people and
goods.
Engineers in this specialization:
 Handle the planning, design, construction, and operation of
highways, roads, and other vehicular facilities as well as their
related bicycle and pedestrian realms.
 Estimate the transportation needs of the public and then secure
the funding for the project.
 Analyze locations of high traffic volumes and high collisions for
safety and capacity.
 Use civil engineering principles to improve the transportation
system.
 Utilizes the three design controls which are the drivers, the
vehicles, and the roadways themselves.
Highway Capacity

Is defined as the maximum number of vehicles that are

reasonably expected to pass a given point over a period
of time usually expressed as vehicles per hour. Sometimes
referred as rate of flow.
1. Under ideal conditions, one freeway lane can
accommodate about 2,000 passenger cars per hour.
2. Two-lane road can carry up to 1,000 passenger cars per
hour in each direction.
AADT(Average Annual Daily Traffic) or ADT
(Average Daily Traffic)
 Refers to traffic volume or flow on a highway as measured by the
number of vehicles passing a partial station during a given interval
of time.
 “Observed Traffic Volume” or estimated 30th minute volume activity
commonly used for design purposes. It is also used in determining
the Peak Hour Factor.
ADT (Average Daily Traffic)

The average of 24-hour traffic counts collected

over a number of days greater than one but less
than a year. These counts are used for planning of
highway activities, measuring current traffic
demand and evaluating existing traffic flow.
AADT(Average Annual Daily Traffic)

The average of 24-hour traffic counts collected

every day in the year. These counts are used to
estimate highway user revenues, compute
accident rates, and establish volume trends.
Accident rates per million entering vehicles for
an intersection
Accident rates per 100 million vehicle miles of
travel for a segment of a highway
𝐴(100,000,000)
𝑅=
𝐴𝐷𝑇 365 𝑁(𝐿)

Where:
R = Accident Rate per million entering vehicles (ARMV)
A = Total number of accidents
N = Number of period in years
ADT = Annual Daily Traffic
L = length of segment in miles
Estimated reduction of total crashes

𝐸𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝐶𝑅𝐹 ∗ 𝐴

Where:
CRF = Crash Reduction Factor
A = Total number of accidents
SEVERITY RATIO

Defines the level or degree of accident in a certain area.

The scale will be varied accordingly as specified by the
observer or by the code prescribed by the agency.

𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑙 + 𝑖𝑛𝑗𝑢𝑟𝑦
𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 =
𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑙 + 𝑖𝑛𝑗𝑢𝑟𝑦 + 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒
Sample Problem

Data on the traffic accident recorded on the certain

intersection for the past 4 years has an accident rate of P
9200 per million entering vehicles (ARMV). If the total
number of accidents is 802, find the average daily traffic
entering the intersection during the 4 year period.
Sample Problem

The accident rates for 100 million vehicle miles of travel

caused by people attempting to pass a heavily traffic 2 lane
rural highway is 6.0. The length of the road is 10 miles with
an average daily traffic ADT of 36000. Determine the
estimated yearly reduction in total crashes if the crash
reduction factor is 0.25.
Sample Problem

Based on the ff. record of the road accidents find the

severity ratio for the period of 5 years.
Year Property Injury Fatal
Damage
1992 205 56 2
1993 178 48 3
1994 152 41 3
1995 190 60 5
1996 236 88 8
Sample Problem
A 20 mile section of the Cavite Coastal Road had the following
reported accidents including property damage only accidents(PDO). It
is required to compute the accident rates of injuring accidents for a
period of 5 years from 1980.
Year Property Injury Fatal ADT
Damage
1980 110 40 3 12000
1981 215 52 1 12500
1982 170 60 5 16000
1983 250 74 8 13500
1984 160 96 7 14000
Critical Crash Rate Per Million Vehicle Miles/
Per Million Entering Vehicles

0.5 𝐴𝑉𝑅
𝐶𝑅 = 𝐴𝑉𝑅 + + 𝑇𝐹
𝑇𝐵 𝑇𝐵

Where:
CR = Critical Crash Rate per 100 million entering vehicles
AVR = Average crash rate for facility type
TF = Test Factor, standard deviation at a given confidence level
TB = Traffic Base per 100 million entering vehicles
Traffic Base per 100 million vehicle/mile

𝑁 𝐴𝐴𝐷𝑇 𝐿 365
𝑇𝐵 =
(100,000,000)

Where:
TB = Traffic Base (vehicle/mile)
AADT = Average Annual Daily Traffic
N = number of years
L = length of highway by miles
Crashes Prevented Before and After a
countermeasure is implemented
𝐴(𝐶𝑅𝐹)(𝐴𝐷𝑇 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡)
𝐶𝑟𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 =
(𝐴𝐷𝑇 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡)

Where:
CRF = Crash Reduction Factor for a specific countermeasure
ADT = Average Daily Traffic
A = Average expected number of crashes if countermeasure is not
implemented and if the traffic volume is the same
 Overall Crash Reduction Factor for Multiple Mutually
Exclusive Improvements at a Single Site.

𝐶𝑅𝐹 = 𝐶𝑅𝐹1 + (1 − 𝐶𝑅𝐹1 ) 𝐶𝑅𝐹2 + (1 − 𝐶𝑅𝐹1 )(1 − 𝐶𝑅𝐹2 ) 𝐶𝑅𝐹3 + ⋯

Where:
CRF = Overall Crash Reduction Factor
𝐶𝑅𝐹1 , 𝐶𝑅𝐹2 , 𝐶𝑅𝐹3 = Crash Reduction Factor for a specific countermeasure
Sample Problem

Given:
Length of segment highway = 0.3 miles
AADT = 16000 vehicles/day
Test factor = 1.96 for 95% confidence level
For a 4-year period: Average crash rate per million entering vehicles.
Property Damage = 250
Fatal Injury = 120
Calculate the critical crash rate.
Sample Problem

Given:
ADT before improvement = 6624 (average over a 3-year period)
ADT after improvement = 9200
Crash Reduction Factor = 30%
Number of crashes occurring per year = 10,12,14 (over the 3-
year before improvement period)
Determine the expected reduction in the number of crashes
occurring after the implementation of the countermeasure.
Sample Problem

Given:
At a single location along NLEX, three countermeasures with
crash reduction factors of CRF1 = 38%, CRF2 = 26%, CRF3 =
22% are proposed. Determine the overall crash reduction
factor.
SPACE MEAN SPEED

The average speed of vehicles in a certain road length at any

time.
𝑛 ∗ 𝑑 σ 𝑑𝑛
𝜇𝑠 = =
σ 𝑡𝑛 𝑛∗𝑡
Where:
𝜇𝑠 = space mean speed
𝑛 = no. of vehicles
𝑑 = length of a segment of the road
σ 𝑡𝑛 = sum of all time observed
Sample

From the data of a freeway, there are 5 vehicles under

observation that travelled at a ff. distance in every 2 sec.
Compute the space mean speed.
Vehicles Distance (m)
1 24.4
2 25.8
3 24.7
4 26.9
5 22.9
TIME-MEAN SPEED

The speed distribution of vehicles at a point on the roadway and it is the average of
the instantaneous speeds of observed vehicles at the spot.
The arithmetic mean of speeds of all vehicles passing a point during a specified
interval of time.
𝑑
σ
𝑡𝑛
𝜇𝑡 =
𝑛
Where:
𝜇𝑡 = time mean speed
𝑛 = no. of vehicles
𝑑 = length of a segment of the road
𝑡 = time of observation
Sample

From the data of a freeway, there are 5 vehicles under

observation that travelled at 1 km segment at the ff. time.
Compute the time mean speed.
Vehicles Time (minute)
1 1.19
2 1.22
3 1.36
4 1.48
5 1.51
SPACE MEAN SPEED over Spot Speed

Spot speed is an average equivalent speed of all passing vehicles

acquired which is inversely proportional to space mean speed.
𝑛
𝜇𝑠 =
1
σ
𝜇𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑡
Where:
𝜇𝑠 = space mean speed
𝑛 = no. of vehicles
𝜇𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑡 = spot speed of every vehicle
Sample Problem

There are four vehicles passing thru the portion of a South

Super highway in a certain period of time. Compute the
space mean speed in kph.
Vehicles Spot Speed (kph)
1 43.40
2 43.50
3 44.60
4 45.20
RATE OF FLOW

The average flow of vehicles passing in a certain highway for

an hour.
𝑞 = 𝐾 ∗ 𝜇𝑠
Where:
𝜇𝑠 = space mean speed(km/hr)
𝐾 = density of vehicles/km
𝑞 = rate of flow of traffic in vehicles/hour
Sample Problem

Compute the rate of flow in vehicles per hour if the space

mean speed is 30 mph and the density is 14 vehicles per km.
PEAK HOUR FACTOR
The ratio of total hourly volume to the maximum rate of flow
within hour.
𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
𝑃𝐻𝐹 =
60
∗ (ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑙. )
15

𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑜𝑙.

𝐷𝐻𝑉 =
𝑃𝐻𝐹
Where:
𝑃𝐻𝐹 = Peak hour factor
𝐷𝐻𝑉 = Design hourly volume of approach
Sample Problem
The table shows a 15 minute volume counts during the peak
hour on an approach of an intersection.
Time Volume of traffic
6:00-6:15 PM 375
6:15-6:30 PM 380
6:30-6:45 PM 412
6:45-7:00 PM 390

1. Compute the peak hour volume.

2. Compute the peak hour factor.
3. Compute the design hourly volume of approach.