See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/318209248

Time Headway and Vehicle Speed Studies of a Road Section in Ilorin, Nigeria

Article · January 2016

CITATIONS READS

4 2,838

2 authors:

Terseer Ako Ibrahim Tunde Yusuf

University of Jos University of Ilorin
16 PUBLICATIONS 34 CITATIONS 41 PUBLICATIONS 162 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Terseer Ako on 05 July 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Ako USEP: Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, Vol.13, No.3, 2016
& Yusuf

Time Headway and Vehicle Speed Studies of a

Road Section in Ilorin, Nigeria

T. Ako1, and I. T. Yusuf2

1,2
Department of Civil Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering and Technology,
University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria
Email: 1ako.terseer@yahoo.com, 2ityusuf@yahoo.com
Phone: 08078767079

Abstract
The properties of vehicle speed and time headways are fundamental in traffic
engineering applications, such as capacity and level of service studies on
highways, un-signalized intersections, and roundabouts. This paper analysed
the time headway and vehicle speed on urban road and investigate their
statistical relationship to demonstrate the potential for improving traffic flow
by controlling the speed and headway of individual vehicle in accordance
with an assessment of the urban traffic demands. 50 vehicles were sampled
on a 100 m section of Tanke-University of Ilorin (Tanke-Unilorin) road for
speed studies for four days, analysed and plotted. Data were also collected
simultaneously at that section of the road and analysed for headway
distribution. Results obtained were 85th percentile speeds of 17.2, 11.4, 11.2,
and 22.2 m/s, 50th (median speed) percentile speed of 9.0, 8.3, 8.3, and 14.0
m/s, and the mean speed of 11.7, 8.66, 9.46, and 14.33 m/s for day 1 - 4
correspondingly. Frequency tables generated and plotted for theoretical and
observed values show that, at higher speed, there was shorter time headways,
implying that, headway times were influenced by vehicle speeds. Also, time
headways plotted against vehicle speeds yielded a headway – speed
polynomial relationship in the form, α₁x² - α₂x + c, at R² values in the range
0.966 – 0.996. This indicates a very high correlation between vehicle
headway and speed and thus, can be used to determine the desired time
headways at various vehicle speeds on Ilorin roads and other urban roads.

Keywords
Time headway, traffic characteristics, urban roads, vehicle speed

1031
Ako USEP: Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, Vol.13, No.3, 2016
& Yusuf

1. Introduction and Concept

Highway traffic characteristics are statistical rather than deterministic in
nature. Therefore, traffic variables, such as volume, speed, delay and
headways can be described by probability distributions. Time headways are
the time intervals between the passage of the successive vehicles past a point
on the highway. When traffic flow reaches its maximum value then time
headway reaches its minimum value. Time headway, or headway for short,
is the time interval between two vehicles passing a point as measured from
the front bumper of a vehicle to the front bumper of the next successive
vehicle (TRB, 2010).

Time headway is one of the important microscopic traffic flow parameters

which are extensively applied in planning, analysis, design and operation of
roadway systems (Michael et al., 2000; Alhajyaseen et al., 2013). Time
headways and their distributions would influence different traffic flow
parameters such as capacity, level of service and safety (Arasan and Koshy,
2003).

Speed in traffic flow is defined as the distance covered per unit time (TRB,
2010). The speed of every individual vehicle is almost impossible to track on
a roadway, therefore, in practice, average speed is based on the sampling of
vehicles over a period of time or area and is calculated and used in formulas.
If speed is measured by keeping time as reference it is called time mean
speed, and if it is measured by space reference it is called space mean speed.
If a traffic management system were to aid in controlling the velocity and
headway of individual vehicles by communicating appropriate speed and
headway values for the prevailing traffic conditions, traffic flow would be
improved not only with regard to uniformity, but with less chance of rear-end
collisions and possibly even greater throughput (Luttinen, 1996). Therefore,
this study is aimed at analysing the time headway and vehicle speed on
Tanke-Unilorin road and investigating the relationship between them as a
tool for improving traffic flow by controlling the speed and headway of
individual vehicle in accordance with an assessment of the urban traffic
demands.

1032
Ako USEP: Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, Vol.13, No.3, 2016
& Yusuf

2. Literature Review

Ndoke and Kolo (2010) studied the gap acceptance and driver behaviour at
intersections in Minna, Nigeria. According to them, there exist a straight line
correlation between the headway and spacing, however, this relationship is
dependent on the speed of the vehicle following. Sadeghhosseini (2002)
analyzed time headways at flow rates varying from 140 to 1704 vehicles per
hour per lane on interstate highways of Illinois, U.S. In his study, a
lognormal distribution with a shift of 0.36 seconds was recommended to
generate the time headways. Arasan (2003), investigated the headway
distribution for a four-lane divided urban arterial in Chennai City in India.
Bham and Ancha (2006) analyzed the time headway of drivers in a basic
freeway section as well as a ramp merge, a lane drop and a ramp weaving
section. According to their study, shifted lognormal distribution provided an
accurate fit for all studied areas. Zwahlen et al. (2007), evaluated the
cumulative headway distributions at different traffic flows and traffic lanes in
Ohio freeways in the U.S. Their results showed that the headway
distributions at different lanes are almost the same for similar hourly traffic
flows.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1 Data Collection
The data for this study was limited to headway and speed data with the
intension to determine the relationship between the headway and vehicle
speed as traffic characteristics. The data were obtained manually using the
stop watch. It was collected for four days (Monday, 8 th June, 2015 to
Thursday, 11th, June, 2015) been identified as days to which high traffic is
expected on the said road.

3.2 Location
100 m section of the Tanke – Unilorin Road in Ilorin, Nigeria was selected
for the study. In doing this, it was ensured that the selected section has no
traffic nor speed interrupted facility such as; speed calming bumps,
intersection, and traffic signal). The location of study is shown in Figure 1.

1033
Ako USEP: Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, Vol.13, No.3, 2016
& Yusuf

Figure 1: Study location (Google Earth, 2010)

3.3 Methods
Poisson distribution was used in this study to describe the counting
distribution as stated in equation (1).
m x e 3
p ( x)  ( for x  0,1, 2, ..., ) (1)
x!
where; P(x) = the probability of x vehicles arriving in time t sec, m =
average number of vehicles arriving in time t

Speed data collected on field were analyzed in order to obtain the required
mean speed, 85th percentile speed and 50th percentile speed. Using the speed
data collected, frequency tables were created from which mean speed were
calculated, while, 85th and 50th percentile speeds were obtained from
cumulative frequency plots. The mean speed (spot speed) was calculated
from the following;
 fx
Mean speed ( spot speed )  .. (2)
n
where; fx = speed of individual vehicle, n = number of observed values A
statistical relationship was then obtained between headway and speed
using Microsoft Excel software and the coefficient of correlation ( R2 )
determined.
1034
Ako USEP: Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, Vol.13, No.3, 2016
& Yusuf

4. Results and Discussions

4.1 Headway distribution Analysis Results
The statistical analysis result of headway distribution is presented in Table 1-
4. The data was analysed in terms of observed and theoretical frequency, and
indicate that at higher traffic volume, there is lower headway values and the
higher the speed, the lower the headway time.

Table 1: Headway Distribution (Day 1)

Headway Observed Total Theoretical
t (sec) Frequency vehicles Frequency
0 10 0 21.0
1 12 12 22.7
2 4 8 12.2
3 8 24 4.4
4 2 8 1.1
5 3 15 0.2
6 2 12 0.0
7 2 14 0.0
8 2 16 0.0
9 3 27 0.0
10 3 30 1.2
> 10 11 110 1.2
62 278 64

Table 2: Headway Distribution (Day 2)

Headway Observed Total Theoretical
t (sec) Frequency vehicles Frequency
0 8 0 23.9
1 9 9 21.9
2 10 20 10.0
3 10 30 3.0
4 6 24 0.7
5 5 25 0.1
6 3 18 0.0
7 7 49 0.0
8 2 16 0.0
9 0 0 3.0
10 0 0 2.7
> 10 1 10 2.7
60 201 60

1035
Ako USEP: Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, Vol.13, No.3, 2016
& Yusuf

Table 3: Headway Distribution (Day 3)

Headway Observed Total Theoretical
t (sec) Frequency vehicles Frequency
0 7 0 19.2
1 5 5 22.5
2 8 16 13.1
3 6 18 5.1
4 4 16 1.5
5 2 10 0.3
6 5 30 0.06
7 3 21 0.01
8 3 24 0.0
9 2 18 0.0
10 2 20 2.5
> 10 15 150 2.5
62 328 67.0

Table 4: Headway Distribution (Day 4)

Headway Observed Total Theoretical
t (sec) Frequency vehicles Frequency
0 10 0 25.9
1 14 14 23.8
2 5 10 10.9
3 7 21 3.3
4 6 24 0.7
5 6 30 0.1
6 4 24 0.0
7 3 21 0.0
8 1 8 0.0
9 3 27 3.2
10 1 10 3.0
> 10 5 50 3.0
65 239 65.0

The headway distribution curves (frequency against headway time) are

shown in Figure 2, these show the behaviour of time headway in terms of

1036
Ako USEP: Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, Vol.13, No.3, 2016
& Yusuf

vehicle volume and speed, as at higher speed, the headway time reduces and
also reduces at higher vehicle volume.

Figure 2: Frequency Vs Headway Time (Sec)

4.2 Speed Studies

The statistical analysis results of speed studies for the four days are plotted in
Figure 3. 85th percentile speeds obtained are; 17.2, 11.4, 11.2, and 22.2 m/s
respectively, which can be used for speed limit determination. The
corresponding 50th percentile speeds are; 9.0, 8.3, 8.3 and 14.0 m/s. Mean
speeds calculated from equation (3) produced values of 11.7, 8.66, 9.46 and
14.33 m/s respectively for days 1 – 4..

4.3 Headway and speed relationship

The curves for the relationship of headway and speed drawn for day 1 – 4
(Figure 3) yielded the equations shown in Table 5, with a very high
coefficient of correlation, (R²) values in the range 0.966 – 0.996. This
indicates relevance between data points and the regression curves.
1037
Ako USEP: Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, Vol.13, No.3, 2016
& Yusuf

Figure 3: Cumulative frequency against Vehicle speed

Figure 4: Headway against Speed (Day 1)

1038
Ako USEP: Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, Vol.13, No.3, 2016
& Yusuf

Figure 5: Headway against Speed (Day 2)

Figure 6: Headway against Speed (Day 3)

Figure 7: Headway against Speed (Day 4)

1039
Ako USEP: Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, Vol.13, No.3, 2016
& Yusuf

Table 5: Equations relating Time headway and Vehicle speed

Day Equation R2 value
1 y = 0.006x2 - 0.582x + 13.58 0.981
2 y = 0.002x2 - 0.271x + 8.908 0.996
3 y = 0.005x2 - 0.617x + 18.26 0.966
4 y = 0.003x2 - 0.343x + 9.762 0.988
where; y is the Time headway and x is vehicle speed.

5. Conclusion

This study analyses the time headway and vehicle speed on urban roads and
investigates the relationship between them. Based on the studies, the
following conclusions were drawn;

(i) Both the headway time and speed decreases with increase in traffic
volume.
(ii) At higher speed there were shorter time headways. That is, headway is
affected by speed of vehicles.
(iii) The polynomial ( 2nd order ) models in the form α₁x² - α₂x + c, at R²
values in the range 0.966 – 0.996, indicate a unique relationship between
headway and vehicle speed.
(iv) The high correlation between time headway and vehicle speed shows
that the models can be used to describe the desired time headways at
various vehicle speeds on Tanke – Unilorin, and other urban roads.
(v) For further studies, the effect of change of traffic volume on headway –
speed relationship should be examined to demonstrate the potentials for
improving traffic flow by controlling the speed and headway of
individual vehicles in accordance with an assessment of the urban traffic
demands.

References
Alhajyaseen, W. K. M., Asano, M. and Nakamura, H. (2013). Left – Turn
Gap Acceptance Models Considering Pedestrian Movement Characteristics,
Accident Analysis and Prevention. Vol. 5, pp 175 – 185.

1040
 Ako USEP: Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering, Vol.13, No.3, 2016
& Yusuf

Arasan, T. V. and Koshy, R. Z. (2003). Headway distribution of

heterogeneous traffic on urban arterials, Journal of the Institution of
Engineers, vol. 84, pp. 210-215.

Bham, G. H., and Ancha, S. R. P. (2006). Statistical models for preferred

time headway and time headway of drivers in steady state car-following, In
Proc. Ninth International Conf. Applications of Advanced Technology in
Transportation, Chicago, pp. 344-349.

Europa Technologies. Google Earth 2010, Available:

http://earth.google.com/, 2015.

Luttinen, R. T. (1999). Statistical Analysis of Vehicle Time Headways,

Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Technology to be presented with due
permission for public examination and debate in the Auditorium at the
Helsinki University of Technology Lahti Center (Neopoli, Lahti, Finland) on
the 31st of May, 1996, at 12 o’clock noon
.
Michael, P. G., Leeming, F. C., and Dwyer, W. O. (2000). Headway on urban
streets: Observational data and an intervention to decrease tailgating,
Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behavior, vol. 3, no.
2, pp. 55-64.

Ndoke, P. N. and Kolo, S.S. (2010). Gap Acceptance and Driver Behaviour
at Intersections in Minna, North Central Nigeria, Nigeria Journal of
Technological Development, Vol.7(1).

Sadeghhosseini, S. (2002). Time headway and platooning characteristics of

vehicles on interstate highways, PhD. Dissertation, University of Illinois,
2002.

Transportation Research Board (TRB) (2010). Highway Capacity Manual,

Washington: National Research Council, 2010.

Zwahlen, H. T., Oner, E., and Suravaram, K. (2007). Approximated

headway distributions of free-flowing traffic on Ohio freeways for work zone
traffic simulations, Transportation Research Record, vol. 1999, pp. 131-140.

1041

View publication stats