Lecture 01 Introduction (Traffic Engineering هندسة المرور & Dr. Usama Shahdah)

1. TRAFFIC ENGINEERING COURSE
(PWE 8322)
Feb. 16, 2016
Instructor: Usama Elrawy Shahdah, PhD
Assistant Professor
Public Works Engineering Department
Mansoura University
Lecture # 01

2. Contact Information
2
 Email: usama.shahdah@mans.edu.eg,
usama.elrawy@gmail.com
 Office Location: 2nd floor next to the Production
Engineering Block
 Office hours: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
On Tuesdays by appointment

3. Course Website
3
 Google Group
https://groups.google.com/d/forum/traffic2015_2016
“Subscribe to this group”
 You will need a Google (i.e., Gmail) Account. You
can create one via:
https://accounts.google.com/SignUp?service=mail&co
ntinue=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%
2F&ltmpl=default

4. Course requirements and grades
4
Term work 50 Marks
8 Assignments
Term Project
Oral Exam
Mid Term Exam
Final exam 100 Marks
(shared with Transp. Planning and Geometric Design)

5. Organizations
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 Transportation Research Board (TRB)
 American Association of State Highway and Traffic
Officials (AASHTO)
 Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

6. References
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 “Highway Capacity Manual” HCM 2000 & 2010 (TRB)
 “Traffic Engineering” by R. Roess, E. Prassas, and W. McShane (3rd & 4th Editions)
 “Traffic Flow Fundamentals” by Adolf May
 “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices” (FHWA):
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/kno_2009r1r2.htm
 “A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets” (The AASHTO Green Book)
 “ Revised Monograph on Traffic Flow Theory”
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/operations/tft/
 “Traffic Signal Timing Manual” (FHWA):
http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08024/fhwa_hop_08_024.pdf

7. Software
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 MS Excel
 TrafficWare Synchro/SimTraffic
 Highway Capacity Software (HCS)
 Simulation For Urban Mobility (SUMO)
 PTV VISSIM

8. Traffic Engineering?
 A subject of Transportation Engineering
 Definition (ITE, www.ite.org):
Traffic Engineering deals with the planning, design and
operations of roads, streets and highways, their
networks, terminals and relationships with other modes
of transportation for the safe, rapid, comfortable,
convenient, economical and environmentally
compatible movement of people and goods
8

9. What Do Traffic Engineers and Researchers Do?
1. Traffic Study
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 What is going on with the system: data collection
and analysis?
 Types of Problems?
 Technologies?

10. What Do Traffic Engineers and Researchers Do?
2. Performance Evaluation
10
 How well are the facilities performing:
Capacity and LOS?

11. What Do Traffic Engineers and Researchers Do?
3. Facility Design
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 What should be the appropriate size and layout:
functional and geometric design?

12. What Do Traffic Engineers and Researchers Do?
4. Traffic Control and Operations
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 How should the facilities be operated?
 At individual facilities:
 Signs and markings
 Traffic signals
 Pedestrian signals
 Speed limit
 …

13. What Do Traffic Engineers and Researchers Do?
4. Traffic Control and Operations
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 How should the system as a whole be operated?
 Multi-modal transportation: vehicles, bikes, pedestrians
 Signal coordination (corridor, network)
 Transit signal priority (TSP)
 Ramp metering

14. What Do Traffic Engineers and Researchers Do?
5. Transportation Systems Management (TSM)
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 How to achieve optimal performance of the
existing system?

15. What Do Traffic Engineers and Researchers Do?
6. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
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 How to optimize traffic system performance using
new technologies?

16. Traffic as a System
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17. Component I: Diverse Road Users
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 Psychological factors:
 Intelligence: ability to adapt, to adjust, to learn
 Experience
 Emotional and attitude
 Maturity
 Physical Factors
 Vision
 Hearing
 Reaction
 Motor skill

18. Example of Human Factors:
Perception Reaction Time (P-R Time)18
 P-R Time is the total time from perceiving an object
to making a reaction
 P-R time varies among drivers (0.5-5 seconds) –most
1-1.5 seconds
 Factors: expectancy, age, fatigue, complexity,
alcohol/drugs
 Design value (ASSHTO Standard):
 Geometric design: 2.5 seconds (90th percentile)
 Signal design: 1.0 second (85th percentile)

19. Other Examples of Human Factors
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 Pedestrian walking speed
 Range: 0.9-2.5 m/sec, depending on age
 Signal design: 1.2-4 m/sec
 Fields of vision
 Clear vision
 Depth of vision
 Color

20. Element II: Diverse Vehicles
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 Size
 Weight-to-power ratio
 Deceleration

21. Example of Vehicle Factors: Turning
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 Low-speed turns (e.g. at
intersections):
 Depends on vehicle size
 High-speed turns:
 Depends on horizontal
alignment, friction, speed,
superelevation

22. Example of Vehicle Factors:
Stopping Sight Distance
22
Highways must be designed so that drivers can see
far enough to avoid any potential hazard:
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23. Example of Vehicle Factors:
Stopping Distance for Signal Design23
Amber/Yellow Interval for a Traffic Signal:
amount of time needed for vehicles that cannot stop
(comfortably) to clear the intersection (d+w+L)

24. Element III: Complex Roadway
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 Road function and class:
 Movement of vehicles
 Movement of non-vehicular traffic
 Parking/Access
 Road geometry:
 Horizontal/vertical alignment
 Grade
 Cross sectional design
 Road traffic environment:
 Physical environment
 Traffic environment
 Social environment

25. Traffic Flow Theory and Its Roles
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 Traffic flow theory?
Seeks to describe in a precise mathematical form the
interactions between the vehicles and their operators and
the infrastructure.
 Why?
 An indispensable construct for all models and tools that are
being used in the design and operation of streets and
highways
 Predict performance of traffic on highways
 Develop general solutions
 Minimize and obviate costly field work
 Rigorous, repeatable and consistent

26. Why Traffic Flow Theory?
Example 1: Design and Analysis of Signalized
Intersection
26

27. Why Traffic Flow Theory?
Example 2: Design and Analysis of Two-Way Stop-
Controlled Intersection
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28. Why Traffic Flow Theory?
Example 3: Freeway Ramp Metering
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29. Why Traffic Flow Theory?
Example 4: Safety, Fuel Consumption and
Air Pollution29

30. Home Reading
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 Traffic Detector Handbook (year: 1990)
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/ip90002/ip90002.pdf
 Traffic Detector Handbook: Third Edition—Volume I (year: 2006)
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/operations/its/06108/06108.pdf
 Traffic Detector Handbook: Third Edition—Volume II (year: 2006)
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/operations/its/06139/06139.pdf
 FHWA Publications
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/publications/technical/
YouTube Videos:
Traffic Detector Video Training Course (2010)
 Part 1 - Detector Theory
https://youtu.be/j3CfU-f0JpI
 Part 2 - Detector Design
https://youtu.be/Q6EpYiR1Mc4
 Part 3 - Detector Installation
https://youtu.be/SFmSuVee_GI
 Part 4 - Detector Maintenance
https://youtu.be/siLS2LQKf2Y

31. Questions
31
Thanks for your time