Stopping Sight Distance for Horizontal Surfaces

𝐻𝑎𝑧𝑎𝑟𝑑

Reaction Distance Braking Distance

𝑉
𝑉𝑡
2𝑔(𝑓 + 𝐺)

𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝑉𝑡

𝑉
𝐵𝑟𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 =
2𝑔 𝑓 + 𝐺

velocity in meters/sec.
perception-reaction time
coefficient of friction between tires and pavements Note: Usually 2.5 seconds is used as Brake Reaction Time
average grade of roadway or Perception-Reaction Time.
Problem 1.
A car traveling at 70 kph requires 48 m to stop after the brakes have been applied. What average coefficient of friction was developed
between the tires and the pavement.
Problem 2.
While descending a -7% grade at a speed of 90 km/h, George notices a large object in the roadway ahead of him. Without thinking
about any alternatives, George stabs his brakes and begins to slow down. Assuming that George is so paralyzed with fear that won’t
engage in an avoidance maneuver, calculate the minimum distance at which George must have seen the object in order to avoid
colliding with it. You can assume that the roadway surface is concrete and that the surface is wet (coefficient of friction is 0.29). You
can also assume that George has a brake reaction time of 0.9 seconds because he is always alert on this stretch of the road.
Problem 3.
Vehicles often travel city streets adjacent to parking lanes at 56 kph or faster. At his speed and setting detection through response-
initiation time for an alert driver at 2 sec and f = 0.50, how far must the driver be away from a suddenly opened car door to avoid
striking it?
Passing Sight Distance on a Level Road Surface
𝑂𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒
𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑉𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝐴
A First Phase B 𝑑 = distance traversed during perception and
reaction time and during the initial
acceleration to the point of encroachment
of the left lane.
𝑑 ⁄ 𝑑 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑑 = distance traveled while the passing
vehicle occupies left lane
A Second Phase B
𝑑 = distance between the passing vehicle at
the end of its maneuver and the opposing
vehicle,
⁄ 𝑑 𝑑 = distance traversed by opposing vehicle

𝑑 𝑑 for two-thirds of the time the passing

𝑑 𝑑
vehicle occupies the left lane or sometimes
𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
taken as 2/3 𝑑 .

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝑑 + 𝑑 + 𝑑 + 𝑑

Problem 4. 𝑂𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒
𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑉𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝐴
Compute the passing sight distance for the following data: A First Phase B

Speed of the passing vehicle = 26.67 m/s

Speed of the overtaken vehicle = 24.44 m/s
𝑑 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
Time of initial maneuver = 4.3 sec ⁄ 𝑑

Second Phase
Average acceleration = 1.473 mph/sec A B

Time of passing vehicle occupies the left lane = 10.4 sec

Distance between the passing vehicle at the end of its
⁄ 𝑑
maneuver and the opposing vehicle = 76 m
𝑑 𝑑 𝑑 𝑑

𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒

Problem 5. 𝑂𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒
𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑉𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝐴
First Phase
Compute the minimum passing sight distance for the following data: A B

Speed of the passing car = 90 kph

Speed of the overtaken vehicle = 80 kph 𝑑 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
⁄ 𝑑
Time of initial maneuver = 4 sec
A Second Phase B
Average acceleration = 2.4 kph/sec
Time passing vehicle occupies the left lane = 9 sec
Distance between the passing vehicle at the end of its maneuver and ⁄ 𝑑

the opposing vehicle = 80 m 𝑑 𝑑 𝑑 𝑑

𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒

Sight Distance for Vertical Curves

A. For Summit (Crest) Vertical Curves:

𝐿 = length of vertical curve, m
a) When 𝑺 < 𝑳 : 𝑆 = sight distance, m

ℎ = height of eye level from the pavement, m

ℎ = height of object, m

𝐿 = 𝐾𝐴
PC
𝐾 = length of vertical curve in meters for 1% change in
PT grade

𝐴=𝑔 −𝑔

𝑅 = 100𝐾
𝐴𝑆
𝐿= 𝑅 = radius of parabolic curve, m
200 ℎ + ℎ
Sight Distance for Vertical Curves

A. For Summit (Crest) Vertical Curves:

𝐿 = length of vertical curve, m
b) When 𝑺 > 𝑳 : 𝑆 = sight distance, m

ℎ = height of eye level from the pavement, m

𝑔 𝑔 ℎ = height of object, m

PC 𝐿 = 𝐾𝐴
ℎ ℎ
PT 𝐾 = length of vertical curve in meters for 1% change in
𝐿
grade
𝑆
𝐴=𝑔 −𝑔

𝑅 = 100𝐾
200 ℎ + ℎ
𝐿 = 2𝑆 − 𝑅 = radius of parabolic curve, m
𝐴
1. Design Standards used in the Philippines 2. California Standards Length of Vertical Curves

Driver Eye Height Object Height a) When design speed V < 60kph
Sight Distance Type
(m) (m)
Use L = 60 m
Car Stopping Sight Distance 1.08 0.60

Truck Stopping Sight b) When grade breaks A = g1 – g2 is less than 2%

2.33 0.60
Distance
Use L = 60 m
Maneuver Sight Distance 1.08 0.60
c) When V > 60 kph and grade break > 2%
Passing Sight Distance 1.08 1.08

Car Headlight to Road Use L = 2V

0.60 0
Surface Sight Distance
d) When V > 60 kph but grade break < 2%
Truck to Car Tail Sight
2.33 0.60
Distance Use L = 60 m
Problem 6.
A 5% grade intersects a -3.4% grade at station 1+990 of elevation 42.30 m. Design a vertical summit parabolic curve connecting the
two tangent grades to conform with the following safe stopping sight distance specifications.
Design velocity = 60 kph
Height of driver’s eye from the road pavement = 1.37 m
Height of an object over the pavement ahead = 100 mm
Perception-reaction time = 3/4 sec.
Coefficient of friction between the road pavement and the tires = 0.15
a) Determine the stopping sight distance.

b) Determine the length of curve.

Problem 7.
A vertical summit curve has tangent grade of +0.5% and a -1.0% grade for a road which will provide a stopping sight distance of 190 m.
Height of drivers driver’s eye above the pavement is 1.07 m and the height of the object ahead is 0.15 m. Compute the minimum length of
crest vertical curve for a design speed of 100 kph.
Sight Distance for Vertical Curves

B. For Sag (Trough) Vertical Curves: 1. Comfort Criterion:

a) When 𝑺 < 𝑳 𝐴𝑉
𝐿=
395
𝐴𝑆 𝑉 = design speed in kph
𝐿=
120 + 3.5𝑆

2. Appearance Criterion:
b) When 𝑺 > 𝑳
a) When V > 60 kph but A < 2%
120 + 3.5𝑆
𝐿 = 2𝑆 − L = 60 m
𝐴
b) When V < 60 kph
𝐴=𝑔 −𝑔
L = 60 m
𝐿 = length of sag curve c) When A < 2%
𝑆 = the distance between the vertical and point where the one degree L = 60 m
upward single of the light beam intersects the surface of the roadway d) When V > 60 and A > 2%
or stopping sight distance.
L = 2V
𝐴 = algebraic difference in grades
Problem 8.
Compute the minimum length of vertical sag curve that will provide 130 m stopping sight distance for a design speed of 80 kph at the
intersection of a -2.30% and +4.8% grade.
Problem 9.
Compute the minimum length of vertical curve that will provide 190 m. stopping sight distance for a design speed of 100 kph at the
intersection of a -2.6% grade and a +2.40% grade.
Design of Superelevation of Highway Curves 𝑊

𝑊𝑉
𝑔𝑅 𝑊 𝜃+𝛼

𝛼 𝑊𝑉
𝜃 𝑔𝑅
𝜃
 Degree of Curvature:
1145.916
𝐷=
𝑅
𝐷 = degree of curvature in degrees
𝑅 = radius of curvature in meters

 Minimum Radius of Curvature:  Centrifugal Ratio or Impact Factor:

𝑉 𝑉
𝑅= 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
127(𝑒 + 𝑓) 𝑔𝑅
𝑅 = minimum radius of curvature 𝑉 = velocity of a car in m/s
𝑒 = super elevation in m/m 𝑔 = 9.81 m/s2
𝑓 = coefficient of side friction or skid resistance 𝑅 = radius of curvature in meters
𝑉 = design speed in kph
Design of Superelevation of Highway Curves 𝑊

𝑊𝑉
𝑔𝑅 𝑊 𝜃+𝛼

𝛼 𝑊𝑉
𝜃 𝑔𝑅
𝜃

 Max. Speed at which a car can round a curve without

skidding:
 Ideal Angle of Embankment:
𝑉
𝑉 tan 𝜃 + 𝛼 =
tan 𝜃 = 𝑔𝑅
𝑔𝑅
𝑔 = 9.81 m/s2
𝑔 = 9.81 m/s2
𝑅 = radius of curvature in meters
𝜃 = angle of embankment
tan 𝛼 = 𝑢
𝑅 = radius of curvature in meters
𝑉 = max. speed in m/s
𝑉 = velocity of a car in m/s
Problem 10.
A railway curve having a radius of 420 m has a distance between their rails of 1.5 m and the outer rail is 15 cm. higher than the inner
rail. Find the max speed that a train could move along this curve so that there will be no lateral pressure on the wheels and the rails.
Problem 11.
A highway curve having a radius of 400 ft is banked so that there will be no lateral pressure on the car’s wheels at a speed of 48 kph.
What is the angle of elevation of the embankment? Use g = 9.81 m/s2
Problem 12.
The rated speed of highway curve of 100 m radius is 65 kph. If the coefficient of friction between the tires and the road is 0.60, what
is the maximum speed at which a car can round the curve without skidding?
Road Vehicle Performance

𝐹 = available tractive effort of the front tires in lb

𝐹 = available tractive effort of the rear tires in lb

𝑅 = aerodynamic resistance in lb

𝑅 = rolling resistance of the front tires in lb

𝑅 = rolling resistance of the rear tires in lb

𝑅 = grade resistance in lb

𝐹 = available tractive effort of the rear tires in lb

𝐹 + 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 + 𝑅 + 𝑅 +𝑅 +𝑅 𝑅 = rolling resistance in lb

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 + 𝑅 + 𝑅 + 𝑅
Road Vehicle Performance Rolling Resistance
𝐹 + 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 + 𝑅 + 𝑅 +𝑅 +𝑅 𝑅 = 𝑓 𝑊cos𝜃
For most highway applications 𝜃 is quite small, cos𝜃 = 1
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 + 𝑅 + 𝑅 + 𝑅
𝑅 =𝑓 𝑊
Aerodynamic Resistance
𝑉
𝜌 𝑓 = 0.01 1 +
𝑅 = 𝐶 𝐴 𝑉 147
2
𝑓 𝑊𝑉
ℎ𝑝 =
𝜌𝐶 𝐴 𝑉 550
ℎ𝑝 =
1100 𝑅 = rolling resistance in 𝑙𝑏

𝑅 = aerodynamic resistance in 𝑙𝑏 𝑓 = coefficient of rolling resistance unitless

𝜌 = air density in 𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔𝑠/𝑓𝑡 𝑊 = total vehicle weight in 𝑙𝑏

𝐶 = coefficient of drag unitless ℎ𝑝 = horsepower required to overcome rolling resistance

𝐴 = frontal area of the vehicle (projected area of the vehicle Grade Resistance
in the direction of travel) in 𝑓𝑡 𝑅 = 𝑊sin𝜃

𝑉 = speed of the vehicle in 𝑓𝑡/𝑠 For most highway applications 𝜃 is quite small, sin𝜃 = tan𝜃 = 𝐺

ℎ𝑝 = horsepower required to overcome aerodynamic 𝑅 = 𝑊𝐺

resistance (1 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = 550 𝑓𝑡-𝑙𝑏/𝑠) 𝑅 = grade resistance in 𝑙𝑏

𝐺 = grade
Problem 13.

A 2500 lb car is driven at sea level (𝜌 = 0.002378 slugs/ft ) on a level paved surface. The car has a 𝐶 = 0.38 and 20 ft of frontal
area. It is known that a maximum speed, 50 hp is being expended to overcome rolling and aerodynamic resistance. Determine the car’s
maximum speed.
Problem 14.

A 2000 lb car has 𝐶 = 0.40, 𝐴 = 20 ft , and an available tractive effort of 255 lb. If the car is travelling at an elevation of 5000 ft
(𝜌 = 0.002045 slugs/ft ) on a paved surface at a speed of 70 mi/h, what is the maximum grade that this car could ascend and still
maintain the 70 mi/h speed?
Accident Analysis

 Accident rates for 100 million vehicle miles of travel (HMVM)  Severity Ratio
for a segment of a highway:
𝑓+𝑖
𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 =
𝐴(100,000,000) 𝑓+𝑖+𝑝
𝑅=
𝐴𝐷𝑇 × 𝑁 × 365 × 𝐿 𝑓 = fatal
𝑅 = the accident rate for 100 million vehicle miles
𝑖 = injury
𝐴 = the number of accidents during period of analysis
𝑝 = property damage
𝐴𝐷𝑇 = average daily traffic
𝑁 = time period in years
𝐿 = length of segment in miles
 Accident rates per million entering vehicle (MEV) for an
intersection.
𝐴(1,000,000)
𝑅=
𝐴𝐷𝑇 × 𝑁 × 365
𝑅 = the accident rate for one million vehicle entering vehicles
𝐴 = the number of accidents during period of analysis
𝐴𝐷𝑇 = average daily traffic entering the intersection from all legs
𝑁 = time period in years
Problem 15.

The number of accidents for 6 years recorded in a certain section of a highway is 5892. If the average traffic is 476, determine the
accident rate per million entering vehicles.
Problem 16.

It is observed that 50 traffic crashes occurred on a 20 mile long section of Route 120 In one year. If the average daily traffic on the
section was 5500 vehicles, determine the rate of fatal crashes per 100 million vehicles-miles if 6% of the two crashes involved fatalities.
Problem 17.
A 15 mile section of the Kalayaan Road had the following reported accidents for 6 years from 1992. It is required to compute the
accident rates of all accidents.

Injury Property Ave. Daily

Year Fatal Accident
Accident Damage Traffic
1992 4 46 120 10000
1993 2 52 200 10500
1994 6 70 190 11000
1995 8 65 140 11500
1996 5 82 240 12000
1997 10 98 180 12500
Problem 18.
The table shows reported accidents for a 10-mile highway section of the Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard.
Year Average Daily Property Injury Fatal
Traffic Damage Accidents Accidents
2000 20,500 165 40 5
2001 22,000 150 45 5
2002 23,500 170 50 10
2003 24,000 170 45 16
2004 25,500 160 60 19
a) Compute the severity ratio.
b) Compute the accident rate for injury accidents in HMVM.
c) Compute the accident rate in HMVM.
Fundamental Relations of Traffic Flow

 Time Mean Speed – arithmetic average speed of all  Space Mean Speed – is the harmonic mean of time
vehicles for a specified period of time. It is associated mean speed. It is associated with a specified length
with a single point along a roadway over a duration of of a roadway.
time.

time mean speed space mean speed

no. of vehicles no. of vehicles

observed speed of vehicle observed speed of vehicle

Fundamental Relations of Traffic Flow

 Traffic Density – is the number of vehicles occupying  Spacing of vehicles – is the distance between two
a given length of a roadway. successive vehicles as they pass a given point on a
highway. It is usually measured from front bumper to
front bumper.

traffic density in vehicles per unit distance,

typically in units of veh/km
no. of vehicles occupying some length of roadway traffic density in vehicles per unit distance
at some specified time
spacing, typically in units of km/veh
length of roadway.

 Traffic Flow – is the rate at which vehicles pass a given  Time Headway – is the time that elapses between the
point on a roadway. arrival of the leading vehicle and the following vehicle at
the designated test point.

traffic flow, typically in units of veh/hr

space mean speed
traffic density
Fundamental Relations of Traffic Flow

 Peak Hour Factor – is the traffic volume during the busiest  Capacity of a single lane in vehicles per hour:
15-minutes of the peak hour with the total volume during the
1000𝑉
peak hour. 𝐶=
𝑆

𝐶 = capacity of a single lane, typically in units of

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟
𝑃𝐻𝐹 = veh/hr
60
× 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 15 𝑚𝑖𝑛. 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟
15
𝑉 = ave. speed of vehicle in kph

 Design Hourly Volume (DHV) 𝑆 = ave. center to center spacing of cars in meters

𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑆 = 𝑉𝑡 + 𝐿

𝐷𝐻𝑉 =
𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑆 = ave. center to center spacing of cars in meters

𝑉 = ave. speed of vehicle in m/s

 Min. Time Headway
𝑡 = reaction time in sec
3600
𝐻 = 𝐿 = length of one car in meters
𝐶

𝐻 = time headway in sec

𝐶 = capacity of a single lane in veh/hr

Problem 19.
From the following data of a freeway surveillance, there are 5 vehicles traveling distance “S” when observed on the two photographs
taken every 2 seconds apart
Vehicles “S” (meters) 𝜇
1 24.4 12.2
2 18.8 9.4
3 24.7 12.35
4 26.9 13.45
5 22.6 11.3
a) Determine the space mean speed.
b) Determine the flow of traffic.
c) Determine the density of traffic.
Problem 20.
From the tabulated table shows the following counts made during a study period of one hour.
Time Period No. of Vehicles Rate of Flow (veh/hr)
7:00 – 7:15 1000 4000
7:15 – 7:30 1100 4400
7:30 – 7:45 1000 4000
7:45 – 8:00 900 3600

Compute the design hourly volume (DHV).

Problem 21.
Compute the minimum time headway for cars moving at an average of 60 kph. The average length of the car is 4.5 m. Reaction time
is 0.7 sec.
Problem 22.
Assume you are observing traffic in a single lane of MacArthur Highway at a specific location. You measure the average headway and
average spacing of the vehicles as 3.2 sec and 50 m, respectively. Determine the traffic flow.
Problem 23.
The speed for vehicles A,B,C,D and E were 50, 54, 56, 58 and 60 kph respectively. Assuming all vehicles were traveling at constant
speed for a distance of 1.5 km, determine the space mean speed.
Problem 24.
Two sets of students are collecting traffic data at the two sections A and B 200 m apart along a highway. Observation at A shows that
5 vehicles pass that section at intervals of 8.18 sec, 9.09 sec, 10.23 sec, 11.68 sec, and 13.64 sec, respectively. If the speeds of the
vehicles were 80, 72, 64, 56 and 48 kph, compute the following:
a) Density of traffic in veh/km.
b) Time mean speed in kph.
c) Space mean speed in kph.