BFC32302 Chapter 2-A

BFC 32302 Traffic Engineering and Safety Lecturer: Dr.
Lecturer: Dr. Basil David Daniel BFC 32302 Traffic Engineering and Safety Lecturer: Dr. Basil David Daniel
BASIC FREEWAY SEGMENTS FREEWAY CAPACITY TERMINOLOGY
Basic freeway segments are outside the influence of ramps or Freeway Capacity Traffic Characteristics
weaving areas of the freeway.
The maximum sustained 15-min flow Any characteristic of the traffic stream
rate, expressed in passenger cars per that may affect capacity, free-flow
hour per lane, that can be accommodated speed, or operations, including the
by a uniform freeway segment under percentage composition of the traffic
prevailing traffic and roadway conditions stream by vehicle type and the
in one direction of flow. familiarity of drivers with the freeway.
Roadway Characteristics Free-Flow Speed (FFS)
The geometric characteristics of the The mean speed of passenger cars that
freeway segment under study, including can be accommodated under low to
the number and width of lanes, left- moderate flow rates on a uniform
shoulder lateral clearance, interchange freeway segment under prevailing
spacing, vertical alignment, and lane roadway and traffic conditions.
configurations.
Base Conditions
An assumed set of geometric and traffic conditions used as a starting point for
computations of capacity and level of service (LOS)
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BFC 32302 Traffic Engineering and Safety Lecturer: Dr. Basil David Daniel BFC 32302 Traffic Engineering and Safety Lecturer: Dr. Basil David Daniel
BASE CONDITIONS FOR A BASIC FREEWAY SEGMENT LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR BASIC FREEWAY SEGMENTS
The base conditions under which the full capacity of a basic A basic freeway segment can be characterised by three
freeway segment is achieved under good weather, good performance measures:
visibility and no incidents or accidents. These conditions are: 1. Density (passenger cars/km/lane)
2. Speed (mean passenger car speed)
1. Minimum lane widths of 3.6 m.
2. Minimum left-shoulder lateral clearance between the edge 3. Volume-to-capacity (v/c) ratio
of travel lane and the nearest obstacle of 1.8 m.
3. Minimum median lateral clearance of 0.6 m. LOS thresholds for a basic freeway segment are:
4. Traffic stream composed entirely of passenger cars.
5. Five or more lanes in one direction (urban areas only).
LOS Density range
6. Interchange spacing at 3 km or greater. (pc/km/ln)
7. Level terrain, with grades no greater than 2%.
A 07
8. Driver population composed principally of regular users.
B > 7 11
C > 11 16
The base conditions represent a high operating level, with an D > 16 22
FFS of 110 km/h or greater. E > 22 28
F > 28
3 4
5 6
BDD/UTHM/2013 1
FREE FLOW SPEED (FFS) where
FFS is the mean speed of passenger cars measured during low FFS = free flow speed (km/h)
to moderate flows (up to 1,300 pc/hr/ln). BFFS = base free flow speed, 110 km/h (urban) or 120 km/h
(rural)
There are two methods that can be used to determine the fLW = adjustment for lane width (from Exhibit 23-4)
FFS: fLC = adjustment for left-shoulder lateral clearance (from
1. Field measurement. Exhibit 23-5)
2. Estimation. fN = adjustment for number of lanes (from Exhibit 23-6)
fID = adjustment for interchange density (from Exhibit 23-7)
The estimated FFS can be obtained using:
FFS BFFS fLW fLC fN fID
7 8
LEFT-SHOULDER LATERAL CLEARANCE
9 10
FLOW RATE (vp) Where
The hourly flow rate must reflect the influence of heavy vp = 15-min passenger car equivalent flow rate (pcu/h/ln)
vehicles, the temporal variation of traffic flow over an hour,
and the characteristics of the driver population. V = hourly volume (veh/h)
PHF = peak hour factor
These effects are reflected by adjusting hourly volumes or N = number of lanes (per direction)
estimates, typically reported in vehicles per hour (veh/h) to fHV = heavy vehicle adjustment factor
arrive at an equivalent passenger car flow rate in passenger fp = driver population factor
cars per hour (pcu/h).
The equivalent passenger car flow rate is given by: Peak Hour Factor
The peak hour factor (PHF) ranges from 0.80 to 0.95 for
V basic freeway segments. Lower PHFs are characteristic of
vp
PHF N fHV fp rural freeways or off-peak conditions. Higher PHFs are typical
of
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BDD/UTHM/2013 2
Urban and suburban peak hour conditions. Field data should be

used, if possible, to develop PHFs representative of local
conditions.
Heavy Vehicle Adjustments

The heavy vehicle adjustment factor is determined using:
1
fHV
1 PT (ET 1) PR (ER 1)
where
PT, PR = proportion (%) of trucks/buses (T) and recreational
vehicles (R) respectively
ET, ER = passenger car equivalents for trucks/buses (T) and
recreational vehicles (R) respectively (from Exhibits 23-8, 23-
9, 23-10, 23-11)
13 14
Driver population
The traffic stream characteristics that are the basis of this
methodology are representative of regular drivers in a
substantially commuter traffic stream or in a stream in which
most of the drivers are familiar with the facility.
It is generally accepted that traffic streams with different

characteristics use freeways less efficiently. Whereas data
are sparse and reported results vary substantially,
significantly lower capacities have been reported over
weekends.
The driver population factor (fp) is used to reflect this. Values

range from 0.85 to 1.00. In general, the analyst should select
1.00, which reflects commuter traffic, unless there is
sufficient evidence that a lower value should be applied.
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DETERMINING THE LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS) EXAMPLE
Determine the LOS of an existing four-lane rural freeway with

Density is given by: the following information:
Where D = density (pc/km/ln), vp = flow rate (pc/h/ln) and S Two lanes per direction
= average passenger car speed (km/h). 3.3 m lane width
0.6 m lateral clearance
The LOS of the basic freeway segment is then determined by Commuter traffic
comparing the calculated density with the density ranges in 2,000 veh/h peak hour volume per direction
Exhibit 23-2.
5% trucks and buses
0.92 PHF
0.6 interchanges per kilometer
Rolling terrain
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BDD/UTHM/2013 3
FFS = BFFS-FLW-FLC-FN-FID
FFS = 120-3.1-3.9-0-3.9
FFS= 109.1 km/hr/ln
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BDD/UTHM/2013 4

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BFC 32302 Traffic Engineering and Safety Lecturer: Dr.

BASIC FREEWAY SEGMENTS FREEWAY CAPACITY TERMINOLOGY

Roadway Characteristics Free-Flow Speed (FFS)

FREE FLOW SPEED (FFS) where

FFS BFFS fLW fLC fN fID

LEFT-SHOULDER LATERAL CLEARANCE

FLOW RATE (vp) Where

Urban and suburban peak hour conditions. Field data should be

Heavy Vehicle Adjustments

It is generally accepted that traffic streams with different

The driver population factor (fp) is used to reflect this. Values

DETERMINING THE LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS) EXAMPLE

Determine the LOS of an existing four-lane rural freeway with

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