Yangon Technological University

Department of Civil Engineering

Transportation Engineering III+IV

(2023-2024 Academic Year)

Spot Speed Study

Submitted by
Name: Thein Than Oo
Roll No: IVC - 3
Date: 5 February, 2024
 Table of Content
Topic Page No.

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Chapter 3: Methodology
Chapter 4: Result & Discussion
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation
 Spot Speed Study

Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Background
In urban and suburban environments, the posted signs that denote numerical figures such
as "30 km/h" or "50 mph," serve as indicators of prescribed speed limits. This regulatory
measure is essential for several reasons, primarily for public safety. The establishment of speed
limits is fundamental in fostering road safety. By imposing maximum speeds, authorities aim to
minimize the likelihood of accidents and protect pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users.
Speed limits contribute significantly to mitigating the severity of accidents. When vehicles travel
at controlled speeds, drivers have the time and space needed to react to unexpected situations.
To determine and establish the proper speed limit for public safety, accident prevention,
and environmental impact reduction, the spot speed study is carried out at a designated point of
interest and the necessary data are collected.

1.2 Problem Statement

Without a posted speed limit, drivers do not have clear guidance on how fast they should
be traveling. The university and the community around it typically have a high number of
pedestrians, including students, faculty, and staff. The absence of a speed limit can lead to
drivers not taking sufficient precautions, posing a threat to pedestrians crossing the road or
walking along the sidewalks. Higher speeds on the road can also lead to increased noise levels,
which is disruptive to the university environment.

1.3 Aim & Objective

This study aims to determine the prevailing speeds of vehicles on the main road in front
of the university and establish a basis for setting appropriate speed limits.
Objective 1 - Assess Current Speed Levels
Measure and analyze the speeds of vehicles traveling on the main road to understand the
current speed environment.
Objective 2 - Recommend Speed Limit Measures:
Based on the study findings, recommend specific speed limit measures, such as the
posting of speed limit signs, speed bumps, or other traffic calming measures, to promote safe and
efficient traffic flow.
1.4 Study Area
An appropriate spot beside Insein Road in front of Yangon Technology is chosen as the
study area. This area was chosen as there are no initial speed limit signs on Insein Road and no
enforcement has been done before. Although there were only a few minor incidents between

N
pedestrians and vehicles on the road, there is still a high chance of danger for both road users and
the public.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
A spot speed study is a method used to assess the speeds of vehicles at a specific location
and time on a roadway. The study provides valuable data for traffic engineers, urban planners,
and policymakers to evaluate existing traffic conditions, enforce speed regulations, and make
informed decisions about road safety measures. The following are steps for a typical spot speed
study,

2.1 Selection of Study Location

Identifying the specific location on the roadway where the study will take place. This
could be a segment of road with safety concerns, near a school, or any area where understanding
vehicle speeds is crucial.

2.2 Determine Study Time

Choosing the time of day or days of the week for the study. Different times may reveal
variations in traffic patterns and speeds.

2.3 Speed measuring Instrumentation and methods

Using appropriate instruments to measure vehicle speeds. Common tools include radar
guns, laser guns, automated camera systems, or an old-school v = d/t formula usage.

2.4 Sample Size Determination

Determining the number of vehicles that need to be observed to obtain statistically
significant results. A larger sample size generally improves the accuracy of the study. The
sample size is determined by the following equation.

(2.1)

where
N = minimum sample size
Z = number of standard deviations corresponding to the required confidence
level 1.96 for 95 percent confidence level ( look in table 2.1 )
s = standard deviation (mi/h)
d = limit of acceptable error in the average speed estimate (mi/h)

Table 2.1: Constant Corresponding to Level of Confidence

2.5 Recording Data
Recording the speed of each vehicle observed, along with other relevant details such as
the type of vehicle, time, and weather conditions. The data can be recorded by many methods
such as Excel sheets, notebooks, recording mobile applications, etc.

2.6 Data Analysis

Analyze the collected data to determine the mean speed, median speed, and other
statistical measures. Identify any outliers or unusual patterns in the speed distribution. Create a
speed distribution curve that illustrates the range of speeds observed. This graph helps visualize
the distribution of vehicle speeds and the 85th percentile speed will be chosen as the speed limit.
1. Mean Speed which is the arithmetic mean of all observed vehicle speeds (which is the
sum of all spot speeds divided by the number of recorded speeds). It is given as

(2.2)

where
ui = speed of the ith vehicle
N = number of observed values

2. Median Speed which is the speed at the middle value in a series of spot speeds that are
arranged in ascending order. 50 percent of the speed values will be greater than the median; 50
percent will be less than the median.
3. Modal Speed which is the speed value that occurs most frequently in a sample of spot
speeds.
4. The ith-percentile Spot Speed is the spot speed value below which i percent of the
vehicles travel; for example, 85th-percentile spot speed is the speed below which 85 percent of
the vehicles travel and above which 15 percent of the vehicles travel.
5. Pace which is the range of speed—usually taken at 10-mi/h intervals—that has the
greatest number of observations. For example, if a set of speed data includes speeds between 30
and 60 mi/h, the speed intervals will be 30 to 40 mi/h, 40 to 50 mi/h, and 50 to 60 mi/h,
assuming a range of 10 mi/h. The pace is 40 to 50 mi/h if this range of speed has the highest
number of observations.
6. Standard Deviation of Speeds which is a measure of the spread of the individual
speeds. It is estimated as

(2.3)

Where
S = standard deviation
 u = arithmetic mean
uj = jth observation
N= number of observations
7. Comparison of Mean Speeds: It is also sometimes necessary to determine whether
there is a significant difference between the mean speeds of two spot speed studies. This is done
by comparing the absolute difference between the sample mean speeds against the product of the
standard deviation of the difference in means and the factor Z for a given confidence level. The
standard deviation of the difference in means is given as

(2.4)

where
n1 = sample size for PC Units
n2 = sample size for Bus Units
Sd = Sd square root of the variance of the difference in means
S1 = variance about the mean for PC Units
S2 = variance about the mean for Bus Units
Chapter 3: Methodology
- After determining the study location, the study is chosen which is between 9:00 am and 10 am
as it is the morning peak time.
- The sample size is estimated at 200 each for PC (Passenger Car) and 100 for Bus units and will
be rechecked the sufficiency by using equation 2.1.
- The travel speed is collected by the old school method of using the “v = d/t” formula due to
lack of equipment and other circumstances. An appropriate distance is chosen and the duration of
a vehicle traveling that distance is then collected by a stopwatch.
- Although there are various types of vehicles using the road, only PC and Bus types are chosen
to collect data from. The taxis and light trucks are regarded as PC units as they have similar
speeds on the road. Medium trucks and mini-buses are regarded as Bus units due to their road
usage and travel speed.
- The one-hour data of vehicles’ speed are collected in the Excel sheet using the following
format.

PC Bus
Travel Travel Travel Travel Travel Travel
No. Time Distance Speed No. Time Distance Speed
(s) (ft) (mil/hr) (s) (ft) (mil/hr)

- After the data collection and recording, the mean speed of both PC units and Bus units is
calculated by using equation 2.2, and the median speed and modal speeds are determined.
- A frequency distribution table for speed data from PC Units is prepared and data from the table
are used to draw a histogram, frequency distribution, and cumulative frequency distribution
curves.
- The 80th percentile speed for PC units and standard deviation S1 is calculated from the data.
- A frequency distribution table for speed data from Bus Units is prepared and data from the
table are used to draw a histogram, frequency distribution, and cumulative frequency distribution
curves.
- The 80th percentile speed for Bus units and standard deviation S2 is calculated from the data.
- The mean speeds of both PC and Bus units are compared using equation 2.4.
- The sample sizes are rechecked using equation 2.1 where assuming the confidence level is 95%
and the limit of acceptable error is 1.5 mi/h.
- The speed limit for Insein Road is established by comparing two 80th percentile values and
choosing the smaller one for better safety.
Chapter 4: Result & Discussion
The collected data results are as follows

PC Bus
Travel Speed Travel Speed Travel Speed
No. No. No.
(mil/hr) (mil/hr) (mil/hr)

1 24.47 101 31.34 1 25.82

2 31.91 102 35.53 2 31.78
3 21.30 103 29.17 3 27.27
4 23.60 104 24.77 4 19.58
5 22.92 105 26.37 5 29.55
6 23.60 106 27.04 6 32.96
7 32.76 107 35.14 7 35.22
8 23.09 108 26.11 8 19.22
9 28.85 109 36.10 9 24.03
10 24.58 110 25.61 10 21.24
11 39.69 111 28.85 11 18.34
12 28.96 112 24.55 12 23.88
13 28.90 113 26.95 13 21.74
14 36.18 114 25.20 14 26.11
15 24.06 115 28.19 15 22.13
16 33.24 116 23.92 16 30.56
17 26.90 117 26.11 17 25.36
18 29.22 118 29.71 18 29.27
19 33.66 119 33.66 19 28.85
20 25.77 120 27.84 20 32.76
21 31.91 121 36.76 21 19.43
22 30.33 122 28.29 22 30.27
23 27.94 123 23.81 23 41.01
24 24.81 124 27.51 24 36.59
25 30.39 125 31.97 25 24.62
26 24.03 126 27.32 26 32.49
27 21.10 127 35.53 27 26.33
28 31.91 128 29.60 28 48.06
29 24.47 129 36.76 29 28.85
30 20.59 130 23.57 30 20.59
31 30.74 131 27.84 31 21.95
32 24.25 132 28.64 32 38.82
33 32.36 133 27.51 33 29.60
34 26.59 134 29.22 34 38.82
35 23.02 135 18.13 35 24.36
36 26.64 136 28.54 36 31.28
37 36.68 137 30.56 37 33.66
38 27.80 138 26.68 38 28.85
39 30.27 139 34.16 39 31.04
40 35.61 140 20.72 40 28.80
41 29.88 141 24.97 41 25.98
42 29.93 142 22.89 42 31.10
43 29.88 143 32.76 43 24.81
44 29.22 144 31.91 44 30.51
45 21.86 145 31.41 45 26.33
46 27.13 146 27.89 46 19.34
47 30.33 147 30.27 47 19.34
48 43.12 148 28.29 48 23.02
49 20.22 149 26.28 49 16.53
50 33.95 150 36.85 50 22.01
51 33.38 151 24.74 51 17.95
52 29.55 152 27.09 52 17.65
53 37.81 153 36.26 53 19.92
54 31.41 154 27.18 54 24.51
55 27.84 155 40.19 55 27.70
56 38.17 156 38.44 56 20.91
57 40.70 157 20.75 57 27.37
58 29.17 158 35.30 58 43.24
59 25.41 159 22.22 59 22.44
60 33.80 160 30.27 60 35.45
61 29.99 161 29.55 61 29.11
62 29.55 162 27.51 62 31.22
63 40.60 163 33.38 63 21.80
64 29.71 164 26.07 64 34.84
65 43.35 165 27.99 65 19.72
66 48.64 166 39.30 66 28.34
67 30.98 167 35.61 67 33.17
68 33.17 168 21.27 68 28.49
69 36.93 169 27.37 69 27.09
 70 35.22 170 52.14 70 18.44
71 37.36 171 28.14 71 22.96
72 31.91 172 35.06 72 37.02
73 23.71 173 25.86 73 23.46
74 37.45 174 35.30 74 27.56
75 33.38 175 43.59 75 24.14
76 33.95 176 47.48 76 28.59
77 27.99 177 42.55 77 23.43
78 33.24 178 43.35 78 20.99
79 30.68 179 32.90 79 19.34
80 40.19 180 28.85 80 28.34
81 42.21 181 28.04 81 16.52
82 46.25 182 46.65 82 17.29
83 38.26 183 34.31 83 21.62
84 41.66 184 40.60 84 27.23
85 25.32 185 28.34 85 18.90
86 36.26 186 19.94 86 18.81
87 23.81 187 31.59 87 18.07
88 31.59 188 26.20 88 24.17
89 35.45 189 27.13 89 32.23
90 30.98 190 37.28 90 20.07
91 47.91 191 30.51 91 20.43
92 26.46 192 37.10 92 30.22
93 22.16 193 20.35 93 18.68
94 40.60 194 27.41 94 29.22
95 27.37 195 32.56 95 22.04
96 56.98 196 29.99 96 22.69
97 52.14 197 35.06 97 14.41
98 31.78 198 31.41 98 21.10
99 29.55 199 23.36 99 18.97
100 24.06 200 28.59 100 26.72

The mean speed for PC units = m1 = 30.94 mil/hr

The mean speed for Bus units = m2 = 26.05 mil/hr

The median speed for PC units in 200 samples = 29.71 mil/hr

The median speed for Bus units in 100 samples = 25.59 mil/hr

The modal speed for PC units in 200 samples = 31.9 mil/hr

The modal speed for Bus units in 100 samples = 28.85 mil/hr
Frequency Distribution Table for Speed Data from PC Units
Precentage of Cumulative
Speed Class Class Mid
Class Frequency observation in Percentage (ui - m1)^2
(mil./hr) Value
Class of all obesrvations
18 - 21.99 19.995 11 5.50% 5.50% 1317.26
22 - 25.99 23.995 32 16.00% 21.50% 1542.60
26 - 29.99 27.995 63 31.50% 53.00% 545.69
30 - 33.99 31.995 41 20.50% 73.50% 45.80
34 - 37.99 35.995 27 13.50% 87.00% 690.46
38 - 41.99 39.995 12 6.00% 93.00% 984.33
42 - 45.99 43.995 6 3.00% 96.00% 1022.90
46 - 49.99 47.995 5 2.50% 98.50% 1454.69
50 - 53.99 51.995 2 1.00% 99.50% 886.79
54 - 57.99 55.995 1 0.50% 100.00% 627.85
Total 200 100.00% 9118.37

Figure: Histogram of Observed PC Vehicles’ Speeds

 Figure: Frequency Distribution of Observed PC Vehicles’ Speeds

Figure: Cumulative Frequency Distribution of Observed PC Vehicles’ Speeds

Thus, the 80th percentile speed for PC unit from the sample = 33.33 mil/hr
Standard deviation for PC unit from the sample = S1 = 6.77

Frequency Distribution Table for Speed Data from Bus Units

Percentage of Cumulative
Speed Class Class Mid
Class Frequency observation in Percentage (ui - m1)^2
(mil./hr) Value
Class of all observations
14 - 18.99 16.495 13 13.00% 13.00% 1186.87
19 - 23.99 21.495 29 29.00% 42.00% 601.69
24 - 28.99 26.495 28 28.00% 70.00% 5.54
29 - 33.99 31.495 20 20.00% 90.00% 592.96
34 - 38.99 36.495 7 7.00% 97.00% 763.69
39 - 43.99 41.495 2 2.00% 99.00% 477.10
44 - 48.99 46.495 1 1.00% 100.00% 418.00
Total 100 100.00% 4045.85

Figure: Histogram of Observed Bus Vehicles’ Speeds

 Figure: Frequency distribution of Observed Bus Vehicles’ Speeds

Figure: Cumulative Frequency Distribution of Observed PC Vehicles’ Speeds

Thus, the 80th percentile speed for Bus units from the sample = 28.33 mil/hr
Standard deviation for Bus units from the sample = S2 = 6.39
The mean speed comparison value Sd = 0.7984
Since m1 - m 2 = 4.924 > ZSd = 1.5968
It can be concluded that the difference in mean speeds is significant at the 95%
confidence level.

For PC units
N = 81.48 = 82 samples required and the collected is 200, the sample size is sufficient.

For Bus units

N = 72.59 = 73 samples required and the collected is 100, the sample size is sufficient.

Between two 80th percentile values, the lesser one for Bus units 28.33 mil/hr will be chosen and
the speed limit will be 25 mil/hr as the pace is 5 mil/hr. This speed limit will bring safety to
pedestrians, and the community and be enforced by traffic police to ensure all types of vehicles
are traveling within this limit.

Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1 Conclusion
The mean speed for PC units is 30.94 mil/hr and bus units is 26.05 mil/hr. The 80th
percentile value of speed samples for PC units is 33.33 mil/hr and for Bus units it is 28.33 mil/hr.
The difference between mean speeds for PC and Bus units is significant at the assumed
confidence level of 95%. The total sample size for PC units is 200 and Bus units is 100 which are
sufficient after rechecking to be taken as proper sample values. The final speed limit chosen is 25
mil/hr which is suitable for both units to follow and is chosen according to 5 mil/hr pace.

5.2 Recommendation
In future studies, instead of traditional methods, one should use radar or other sensor
devices to collect speed samples. The sample collection time should be more than a 2-hour
period to obtain samples that represent the whole day and peak times speed. This study data will
be useful for junior students to refer their future studies data from and the traffic planners,
engineers, and police to improve the safety level on Insein Road and do necessary projects or
improvements.