SKAB3842 / SKAA3842 1

FINAL EXAMINATION
SEMESTER II, SESSION 2019/2020
COURSE CODE : SKAB3842 / SKAA3842

COURSE : TRAFFIC ENGINEERING

PROGRAMME : SKAW

DURATION : 2 HOURS

DATE : JULY 2020

INSTRUCTION TO CANDIDATES:
1. ANSWER FOUR (4) QUESTIONS.
2. THE ANSWER SHOULD BE HANDWRITTEN.
3. THIS IS AN OPEN BOOK EXAM. YOU CAN REFER TO ANY NOTES, BUT NO
DISCUSSION OR CONSULTATION IS ALLOWED.
4. SCAN, CONVERT TO PDF AND UPLOAD COMPLETE FINAL ANSWER IN e-
LEARNING NO LATER THAN 15 MINUTES AFTER THE EXAM ENDED.
5. SAVE THE FILE BASED ON YOUR FULL NAME AND SECTION. (FOR
EXAMPLE AHMADSECTION1.pdf).

WARNING!
Students caught copying/cheating during the examination will be liable for disciplinary
actions and the faculty may recommend the student to be expelled from the study.

This examination question consists of (8) printed pages only.

 SKAB3842 / SKAA3842 2

Q1. (a) Road traffic system component consists of road users, vehicles and road
network. Among all, human errors contribute to higher accident rate in the
world. The time it takes for a road user to adapt to a driving situation varies
between road users and it could be more than the design guideline.
(i) Evaluate the physical factors of road users and their importance in the
safety of road operation system.
(ii) In a situation that is more complex or involve higher speeds, explain
mitigation strategies that could be considered by road designers to
maintain safety of the traffic system components.
(10 marks)

(b) Traffic studies were conducted at 3-lane highway to evaluate highway operating
performance. It was observed that in average, vehicles in lane 1 were travelling
at 50 km/h, lane 2 at 80 km/h and lane 3 at 110 km/h. There was a constant
spacing of 500 metres between vehicles in all lanes. The spot speed data was
observed in the middle of the highway segment for 30 minutes period. Evaluate
the time-mean speed (TMS) and space-mean speed (SMS) for this traffic
stream. Explain the differences between the value of these two speeds.
(15 marks)
(25 marks)

Q2. Traffic volume under congested condition is 800 veh/h with an average speed
of 10 km/h, while during stable condition is 264 veh/h with speed of 77 km/h.
Assuming the speed-density is linearly related:
(i) Establish the speed-density and flow-density relationships for this traffic
stream;
(ii) Determine the capacity of the road segment;
(iii) Calculate the speeds, densities, spacings and headway when flow is at
2/3 of the capacity; and
(iv) Sketch the flow-density and speed-density relationship, show all the
relevant values and state the traffic conditions on the sketch.
(25 marks)

Q3. Table Q3 shows spot speed data based on a sample of 456 vehicles traversing a
section of sub-urban roadway.
(i) Determine the probability a vehicle speed is greater than 70 km/h.
(ii) Determine the probability that a randomly observed vehicle speed will
be between 55 km/h and 65 km/h.
 SKAB3842 / SKAA3842 3

(iii) Determine the 85th percentile speed.

(iv) As an engineer, you have collected 456 spot speed samples from the sub-
urban roadway. Is the spot speed data collected is sufficient to achieve
the minimum required sample at the confidence level of 95%?

TABLE Q3
Speed Class (km/h) Frequency
30-35 14
35-40 15
40-45 35
45-50 34
50-55 70
55-60 98
60-65 65
65-70 48
70-75 47
75-80 30
Total 456
(25 marks)

Q4. For the intersection shown in Figure Q4, each lane has a width of 3.5 m for
North-South movements and 3.0 m for East movement. Some approaches
consist of one exclusive right turn lane (RT), straight-through traffic (ST),
straight-through shared with left turn (STLT) and left turn shared with right turn
(LTRT). The traffic flow presented in the figure was collected during AM peak
hour (in veh/h).
(i) Design a signalized intersection according to ATJ 13/87 method. Given
turning radius, R = 20 m and the road is sloping +3% towards North. The
average passenger car equivalent for 1 vehicle is 1.2 pcu. An all red period
may be taken as 3 sec/phase for North-South movements and 2 sec/phase
for other movements, lost time due to late start is equal to 2 sec/phase and
amber period of 3 sec. Clearly state your assumption where applicable.
(ii) Show the traffic phase sequence and timing diagrams for the proposed
design.
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75

200 200
70
50
250 250 150
40

FIGURE Q4
(25 marks)

Q5. (a) A driver of a car going 80 km/h suddenly sees the lights of a barrier 150 m
ahead. It takes the driver 1.5 seconds to apply brakes with 0.30 coefficient of
friction.
(i) Will the car hit the barrier?
(ii) What is the speed of the car when it is 70 m away from the barrier?
(iii) Suggest the safe maximum perception-reaction time of a driver.
(10 marks)

(b) The proposed design of horizontal alignment as illustrated in Figure Q5 was

adjusted in order to avoid a critical obstacle. This was accomplished by moving
the forward tangent 30 m forward.
(i) Determine the station for PC.
(ii) Determine the radius of the new curve if it begins at the same location as
the PC of the initial curve.
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PI Sta. 85 + 75.92

PC 30 m 60o
Tangent moved
forward
Degree of
curvature for initial
curve = 6 o
Original
tangent
New PT

PT
30 m

FIGURE Q5
(15 marks)
(25 marks)
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EQUATIONS
The symbols indicate parameters usually used.

X AB + (Y1 − Y2 ) AB
Q AB = V2
t A + tW R=
127(e + f )
(Y1 − Y2 ) AB
t AB = tW − 𝐿. 𝐶. = 2𝑅 sin(𝜃⁄2)
Q AB
𝑇 = 𝑅 tan(𝜃⁄2)
u 
u = uf − f   k
k 𝐸 = 𝑇 tan(𝜃⁄4)
 j 
𝑀 = 𝐸 cos(𝜃⁄2)
 kj  2
q = kj u −    u
 uf P.C. = P.I . − T
 
P.T . = P.C. + L
 uf  2 LP
q = uf k −   k  =  − 2 P  P = 57.3
 kj 2R
 
2
Vi =
( f V )
i i Length of circular segment, L B = R 
360
f i  R.g.e 
V 3 1 − 2 
Length of transition curve, LP = 
V 
 fV2  fV 
 i i − i i
2

SD =  
 c.R
  fi  f   AS 2
  i   L=
(
2 h1 + h2
2
)
 z 
2
(x −  )
N =
 d 
 z=
 L = 2S −
(
2 h1 + h2 )
2

A
b
𝜎12 𝜎22 SR =
𝜎𝑑 = √ +  1.524 
𝑛1 𝑛2 1 + 
 r 
Perception Distance = 0.28Vt b = 1800 for single lane
b = 3000 for two lanes

V 2 − u2
Braking distance = I = R + a, S = 525W
254 ( f  G )
V W ' + L' qi
G − G1 a= + yi =
A = G2 − G1 r = 2 2A V Si
L
2
rx
YX = + G1 x + Y0
n n n

2 Y =  yi L =  Ri +  li
i =1 i =1 i =1
dYX
= rx + G1
dx
 SKAB3842 / SKAA3842 7

1.5L + 5 yi
Optimum Cycle, C O =
1−Y
Effective green, gi = (CO − L )
Y
Controller green, Ki = gi+ l – a Actual green, Gi = gi + l + R

Table 1: Saturation flow for lane width less than 5.5 m

W 3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.25 4.50 4.75 5.00 5.25
S 1845 1860 1885 1915 1965 2075 2210 2375 2560 2760

Table 2: Adjustment factors for the effects of gradient

Adjustment factor, Fg Conditions
0.85 for upgrade 5%
0.88 for upgrade 4%
0.91 for upgrade 3%
0.94 for upgrade 2%
0.97 for upgrade 1%
1.00 for flat road
1.03 for downgrade 1%
1.06 for downgrade 2%
1.09 for downgrade 3%
1.12 for downgrade 4%
1.15 for downgrade 5%

Table 3: Adjustment factors for turning radius effects

Adjustment factor, Ft Conditions
0.85 for turning radius, R  10m
0.90 for turning radius where10m  R  15m
0.96 for turning radius where 15m  R  30m

Table 4: Adjustment factors for the effects of turning movements

% turning traffic Factor for right-turn, Fr Factor for left-turn, Fl
5 0.96 1.00
10 0.93 1.00
15 0.90 0.99
20 0.87 0.98
25 0.84 0.97
30 0.82 0.95
35 0.79 0.94
40 0.77 0.93
45 0.75 0.92
50 0.73 0.91
55 0.71 0.90
60 0.69 0.89
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