Lecture No.

2 – OPERATION AND CONTROL OF TRANSPORTATION

HolyVEHICLES
Angel University
School of Engineering and Architecture
Department of Civil Engineering

OPERATION AND CONTROL OF

TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES
Lecture No. 2 – OPERATION AND CONTROL OF TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES

Objective This lecture aims to introduce the different concepts and

terms that are needed to understand transportation

engineering in a more detailed manner. The basic

terminologies will be defined and explained thoroughly to

students to strengthen their foundation in understanding

transportation engineering in general.

Content  Operational and Vehicular Characteristics

 Human Factors in Transportation
 Road Characteristics
 Traffic Controls and Devices

Lecture No. 2 – OPERATION AND CONTROL OF TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES

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 Lecture No. 2 – OPERATION AND CONTROL OF TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES

2.1 Traffic Systems

Components of the Traffic Systems

1. Vehicular Traffic - Cars, Buses, Trucks, Taxis...
2. Road Conditions - Motorway, Highway, Urban Arterial, Rural roads ...
3. Driver Characteristics - Young, Drunk, Experienced, Learner’s License ...
4. Environmental Conditions - Rainy, Sunny, Foggy, Night-time conditions ...
5. Control Devices - Signalised/Unsignalised ...

2.2 VEHICULAR TRAFFIC

2.2.1VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS

1. Dimension
– For road design, it is important to have design vehicles having dimensions representative of
actual fleet.
2. Acceleration Performance
– The weight-to-power ratios vary significantly for vehicles.
3. Braking Performance
– Depends on a tire conditions & type, road surface type & condition, and the slope/grade of
the road.
– Important to calculate safe stopping distance.
4. Sight Distances
- Distance a driver can see ahead at any specific time
- Must allow sufficient distance for a driver to perceive/react and stop, swerve etc... when
necessary.
Different types of sight distances,
a. Stopping
b. Decision
c. Passing
d. Intersection

Lecture No. 2 – OPERATION AND CONTROL OF TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES

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 Lecture No. 2 – OPERATION AND CONTROL OF TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES

2.3 SIGHT DISTANCES

Stopping sight distance (SSD)
It is the length of roadway that should be visible ahead of the driver, in order to ensure that
the driver will be able to stop if there is an object in the path.
It is composed of two distances,
– Distance traveled during perception/reaction time
– Distance required to brake the vehicle
Decision Sight Distance
– When situation is unexpected or driver must make unusual maneuvers or under difficult-to-
perceive situations.
– It does not depend on stopping but on manoeuvring safely and efficiently.
Passing Sight Distance
– It is the length of roadway that the driver of the passing vehicle must be able to see initially, in
order to make a passing manoeuvre safely.

Intersection Sight Distance

- The operator of a vehicle approaching an intersection should have an unobstructed view of
the entire intersection and an adequate view of the intersecting highway to permit control
of the vehicle to avoid a collision.

2.4 DRIVER’S CHARACTERISTICS

1. Variable driver types
a. Age,
b. gender,
c. physical condition (people with disability, alcohol, fatigue, drugs, etc.),
d. mental condition/capabilities,
e. skill (self perception of the skill level ),
f. attitude.

2. Perception/Reaction Time
PIEV
a. Perception - sees or hears situation (sees obstacles)
b. Identification - identify situation (realizes something is in road)
c. Emotion - decides on course of action (swerve, stop, change lanes, etc)
d. Reaction (volition) - acts (time to start events in motion but not actually do action)
When foot begins to hit brake, it is not the actual deceleration.
Range: 0.5 to 7 seconds
• Environment: Urban vs. Rural/Night vs. Day/Wet vs. Dry
• Distractions
• complexity of situation (more complex = more time)
• complexity of necessary response
• expected versus unexpected situation (traffic light turning red vs. dog darting into road)
3. Visual Acuity - ability to see fine details (lighting conditions, presence of fog, snow, etc)
a. Static (stationary objects such as letters)
b. Dynamic (ability to detect moving objects)
• Depth perception
• Glare recovery
• Peripheral vision

Lecture No. 2 – OPERATION AND CONTROL OF TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES

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 Lecture No. 2 – OPERATION AND CONTROL OF TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES

2.5 ROAD CHARACTERISTICS

Geometric characteristics of road
– Horizontal alignment
– Vertical alignment
– Other geometric elements (water drainage etc.)
– Highway Design (no. of lanes etc.)

2.6 TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES

Signals are a major investment and their installation requires careful thought.
To be effective and to maximize throughput and minimize delay, a device must,
1. Fulfil a specific purpose
2. Command attention
3. Convey a clear simple meaning
4. Command respect of road users
5. Give adequate time for proper response

Broad Category of Traffic Control Devices

1. Traffic Marking
a. Longitudinal Markings
b. Transverse Markings
c. Object Markings and delineators
d. Word / Symbol Markings,
e. Intersection Markings
2. Traffic Signs
a. Regulatory Signs
b. Warning Signs
c. Guide Signs
3. Traffic Signals
a. Pretimed - Lengths of Phases predetermined and statically set
• Lower maintenance resources
• Consistent demand
• Simpler
b. Actuated - can account for cycle-to-cycle variation.
• Significant variation in demand
• High volume meets low volume road
• Greater control
1. Semi-actuated - Most use Inductive-Loop Detectors in pavement
2. Fully Actuated - Sensors/detectors on all legs of intersection
o There is a pretimed framework that underlies an actuated intersection
o Green Phase on an approach is requested (or extended) if presence of vehicle
is detected.
o Can enter the next phase in one of two ways:
– Max out: the phase reaches its predetermined maximum
– Gap out: no vehicle detected for a movement within some
predetermined amount of time
• Adaptive – traffic signal timing changes, or adapts base on actual traffic demands.
- computer aided hardware and software.

Lecture No. 2 – OPERATION AND CONTROL OF TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES

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