CE 141 – 2nd LE Coverage DEVICES – Traffic Signs and Markings

LEC 3 – Traffic Control Devices - To regulate, warn, and guide

- Lines, patterns, words, symbols, reflectors
Traffic Management - Uniformity – conforming to standards
- Installed by duly authorized public body
- Improve roadway safety, efficiency, &
- Fixed/permanent or variable (VMS)
effectiveness
- Traditional traffic eng’g tools – regulate & Traffic Signs
control traffic
- Intelligent Transportation Systems – ITS “Vienna Convention” (International Convention of
Road Traffic Signs, U.N., Vienna, Austria, 1968
Traffic Regulations amended in 1993)
- Privilege Uniformity & Consistency – unambiguous
- Restrictions are necessary – general welfare
- Reasonable and effective Classification
- Dependent upon the law
1. Informative
Effective Traffic Regulation 2. Warning
3. Regulatory
- Rational – effort and expense; social, economic,
and human; regulation vs. habit Regulatory Signs
- Developed progressively – abruptness leads to
 Prohibitory/Restrictive Signs
resistance
o Circular, White BG, Red
- Often not enough – strict and consistent
Borders, Black Legend
enforcement
o Restrictive regulations
Elements of Road System  Priority Signs
o Stop Sign
3E’s Human Vehicle Road  White Legend and Border
(Env’t)  Red BG, Octagon
Education ✓  Complete stop
Enforcement ✓ ✓ ✓ o Yield Sign
Engineering ✓ ✓ ✓  Black Legend, Reflectorized
Red Border & White BG
Traffic Control Devices – req. or cond. affecting  Downward Triangle
road use  Right-of-way

 Regulatory device – impose law/rule  Mandatory Signs

 Warning device – prevents accident o Circle, Blue BG, White Legend
 Guiding device – informs o Special rules
Requirement of Traffic Control Devices Warning Signs
1. Compel attention  Upright triangle, Red Border
2. Meaning at a glance  Black Legend, White BG
3. Easy response
4. Beget respect Direction Signs or Guide Signs

Elements of Design
Shape, Short Illumination/ Maintenance
color, message/ placement/
size symbol location
Attention ✓ ✓ ✓
Meaning ✓ ✓
Response ✓ ✓
time
Respect ✓ ✓
LEC 4 – Traffic Signal Control Data requirements:

Conflict at the Intersection  Traffic volume

 Pedestrian flow
- 4-leg intersection – 12 vehicular movements –
 Passenger car unit equivalent per vehicle
32 conflict points
type
- Pedestrians & bikes add to conflicts
 Saturation flow rate
- Behavioral problems
 Physical characteristics
Traffic Signal Control
Saturation Flow Rate – max flow rate occurring at
- Conflicts are prevented by giving right-of-way stop line once traffic initially in queue is given
- Separation of time – signal phasing green time indication

Phasing

- Right of way is given to particular movements in

a local manner – minimizing conflicts
- More intersection legs, more conflicts, more
phases needed
- Factors: traffic volume, turn prohibitions
- Left turns increases no. of phases
- Phases must be minimized – ↑ phases, ↑ green
time loss = intersection delay
- Minimize no. of Phases while Ensuring Safety
(by eliminating conflicts)

Types of Traffic Signal: Saturation Flow Survey

 Isolated ∑𝑁
o Random vehicle arrival 𝑠= 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑐𝑢/ℎ
∑ ∆𝑇
o 2km apart
 Coordinated Cycle Time – duration of a complete indication of
o Not random green, yellow, and red
o Continuous movement over several minor
Constant for pre-timed signals; varies for traffic-
streets
actuated signals
o Signals in series
 Area Traffic Control Lost Time – clearance interval/inter-green period:
o Signals over urban road network yellow and all-red; Starting loss + all-red period
o SCATS
Cycle Time vs. Delay
Isolated:
1.5𝐿 + 5
 Pre-timed/Fixed Time Signals 𝐶𝑜 =
1−𝑌
o Fixed settings based on peak periods
o Single or multiple programs 𝐶𝑜 – Optimum Cycle Time
 Traffic-actuated 𝐿 – Lost Time
o Variable settings based on actual traffic
volume at approaches 𝑌 – Sum of critical y-values
𝑞 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
𝑦= =
𝑠 𝑆𝐹𝑅
Sample Problem:

*𝐿 = 𝑛(𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠) + 𝑛(𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑑)

*n = no. of phases

1. Cycle Time: Y > L > Co

2. Allocation of Green (in proportion to y-values)
𝑔 = (𝐶𝑜 − 𝐿) = Effective green or usable green Coordination of Traffic Signals
𝑦𝑖 𝑦𝑖
𝑔𝑖 = (𝑔) = (𝐶𝑜 − 𝐿) = Effective green-phase i  Simultaneous System
𝑌 𝑌
- same color indication
3. Timing Diagram - closely spaced intersection
- drivers tend to increase speed
Actual green + Yellow = Effective green + Starting
loss

𝐺+𝐴= 𝑔+𝑙
𝑟 =𝐶−𝑔
𝑟 = 𝑅+𝑙
𝐶−𝑔 =𝑅+𝑙
𝑅 =𝐶−𝑔−𝑙

 Alternating System
- Drivers sees intersections ahead with
alternating green and red indication
- When intersection are far apart

Capacity of Movement or Approach

𝑔
𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑠 ∗
𝐶
Intersection Degree of Congestion

Degree of congestion of a particular movement or

phase i:  Progressive System
- Traffic flow is uninterrupted and
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑖 𝑞𝑖
𝑥𝑖 = = bandwidth is optimized
𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦𝑖 𝑠𝑖 ∗ 𝑔𝑖 - Common cycle time; key intersection
𝐶
determines cycle time
Intersection Degree of Congestion:
𝐶𝑌
𝑋=
𝐶−𝐿
Delay per Cycle

1 𝑟2𝑞
𝐷=
2 (1 − 𝑦)
Ave. Delay per vehicle per cycle
1 𝑟2
𝑑= 1. Determine Key Intersection and Cycle Time
2𝐶 (1 − 𝑦)
Y > L > Co
Critical Movement Diagram
2. Effective and Actual Green for Key Intersection
Determination of all combinations of movements
that form a complete cycle. 𝑔 = (𝐶𝑜 − 𝐿) = Effective green
𝑦𝑖 𝑦𝑖
𝑔𝑖 = (𝑔) = (𝐶𝑜 − 𝐿) = for phase i
𝑌 𝑌
3. Effective and Actual Green for Other
Intersections
𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 ∗ 𝐶
𝑔𝑚𝑖𝑛,𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 =
0.90
𝐺𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐶 − 𝐺𝑚𝑖𝑛 − 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛
𝐺 + 𝑌 = 𝑔 + 𝑙𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡
4. Determine G, Y, and R (N-S phase)
e) Repeat step (d) for the rest of
Graphical Method for Traffic Signal coordination intersections; continue adjusting the
a) Time-distance diagram; distance between sloping line (line 3…)
intersections drawn to scale; draw
construction line

f) Line is drawn parallel to the final slope

line (line 3); the parallel lines indicate the
b) Green or red is centered on construction bandwidth, w; estimate final desired
line (for an initial intersection) progression speed (inverse of slope of
line); determine offset

c) Draw line (line 1) with slope according to

assumed desired speed of progression Offset
(trajectory of 1st vehicle in platoon)
Difference in the start of green between two
intersections (absolute or relative)

d) Center a green or red on the next

intersection such that the start of green is
close to slope line (line 1); adjust slope
line (line 2)
LEC 5 – Traffic Flow at Unsignalized Intersections Assessment of Road Safety
𝑁
- Uncontrolled: ROW rule; Stop/Yield: higher ROW 𝐴𝑝 = ∗ 100,000 = accidents per 100k population
𝑃
to major movements
- Gap – distance from tail of lead to head of next 𝑁
𝐴𝑣 = ∗ 10,000 = accidents per 10k vehicles
𝑉
vehicle
- Critical Gap – average min. gap needed; 1,000,000∗𝑁
𝐴𝑖 = = accident rates for intersection
365∗𝑇∗𝑉
determines capacity of traffic movement
100,000,000∗𝑁
LOS Analysis Procedure 𝐴𝑠 = = accident rates for road section
365∗𝑇∗𝑉∗𝐿

Identifying Hazardous Locations – Blackspots

I. Classic Statistical Method – normal probability

distr.

𝑋𝑖 > 𝑋̅ + 𝐾 ∗ 𝑆
II. Rate Quality Control Method – Poisson distr.
0.5
𝑌̅ 1
𝑌𝑖 > 𝑌̅ + 𝐾 ∗ ( ) +
𝑉𝑖 2𝑉𝑖

III. Setting the Benchmark Method – extracting

blackspots
Conflicting Volumes, 𝑴𝒉

Critical Gap, 𝒕𝒈 – min gap needed by drivers of

minor road vehicles to be able to flow through the
intersection

Basic Capacity of Lane Movement, 𝑴𝒏𝒐

𝑣𝑐 𝑡𝑐
𝑒 −3600
𝑐𝑝 = 𝑣𝑐 𝑣𝑐 𝑡𝑓
1 − 𝑒 −3600
𝑡𝑓 = 0.6𝑡𝑐

PCU Values

Level of Service

Further Adjustments

Congestion on Major Road – reduce basic capacity

by multiplying p-factor

Capacity of Share Lane

1 𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
= + +
max 𝑀𝑛 max 𝑀𝑛𝑎 max 𝑀𝑛𝑏 max 𝑀𝑛𝑐

LEC 6 – Traffic Accident Analysis

2 major approaches to improving road safety:

 Accident Reduction – existing locations w/
accident history – investigations
 Accident Prevention – new and existing road
projects – audits