TRAFFIC

ENGINEERING
San Ignacio de Loyola
University
Dr. Ing. Andres Sotil
Class 02 Volume Counts

VEHICLE COUNT METHODS

In-Situ Conventional Technologies
In-situ refers to measured traffic data with
placed detectors next to the roadway
Two types
Intrusive (data registration and a sensor)
Non-Intrusive

Intrusive Methods
Pneumatic Tubes
Piezoelectric sensors
Magnetic circuits

VEHICLE COUNT METHODS

Pneumatic Tubes

They register the pressure changes

when a vehicles passes by the tube

Disadvantages:
Volume per lane, no turns
Limited by climate and traffic
(multiaxis)
Problems with slow traffic or

VEHICLE COUNT METHODS

Piezoelectric Sensors

Different from the pneumatic tube, the sensor is

capable of registering speeds and weights

It is useful for the WIM (weight-in-motion) stations

Magnetic circuits: used in Europe but short-

lived and affected by heavy traffic

VEHICLE COUNT METHODS

In-Situ Conventional Technologies
Non-Intrusive Methods
Manual counts
Passive and active infrared
Passive magnetic
Microwave radar
Passive ultrasonic and acoustic
Video detection

VEHICLE COUNT METHODS

Manual counts
Most used traditional method
Experienced measurers
Besides volume data, the measurers can also
get valuable information that is hard to acquire
automatically like
Vehicle occupational rate
Pedestrians
Vehicles types

Tools used:
Counting sheets
Mechanical counting tables
Automatic counting tables

VEHICLE COUNT METHODS

Passive and active infrared
Counts, speed and type can be measured
However, there are limitations due to crossing
vehicles, and adverse climate
Passive Magnetic
Problems with congested areas
Microwave radar
Similar to infrared
Mainly used for traffic infraction detection

VEHICLE COUNT METHODS

Passive Ultrasonic and Acoustic
Affected by climate conditions
Video Detection
Number of vehicles
Type of vehicles
Speed
Occupational Rate
Pedestrians
The post-processing is long and constant

VIDEO DETECTION
Class exercise

Prof. Andrs Sotil

MANUAL COUNTS
It consists in summarizing in a predetermined

format what is observed in the field

The format sheets have information like:
Vehicle types
Time intervals (15 min)
Intersection turning type and street

Hourly Partition 15
mins

Type of
Vehicles

Then, the several tables are put

together

1 truck = 3 cars
1 microbus = 2
cars
With the organized data, equivalent vehicles can be
calculated, and THEN the PHF can be calculated

EQUIVALENT VEHICLES
Source:
Estudio de Impacto Vial Per

Source:
Estudio de Impacto
Vial

Another Counting Format

Vehicle Types with Turns