Learning Objectives

• To define and apply basic measures of

traffic flow, including;
– Speed
– Volume
– Density
– Spacing and Headway
– Lane occupancy
– Clearance and gap
 Traffic Flow
• Complex: between vehicles and drivers,
among vehicles
• Stochastic: variability in outcome, cannot
predict with certainty
• Theories and models
– Macroscopic: aggregate, steady state
– Microscopic: disaggregate, dynamics
– Human factor: driver behavior
 Speed (v)
• Rate of motion
• Individual speed L L
v , vavg 
T T

• Average speed
– Time mean speed v i

Arithmetic mean vt  i

– Space mean speed

n
vt  vs
L
nL
Harmonic mean vs  
ti  ti
i n i
 Individual Speed
(1)

Time of Location (ft) Speed

Passing (sec) 600 700 (ft/sec)
Spot 1 0.0 2.0 50.0
Speed 4.4 6.7 45.0
2
3 6.0 8.0 50.0

Vehicle
4 11.4 14.3 35.0
5 15.0 17.5 40.0
700  600
v1   50 ft/sec 6 17.5 20.0 40.0
2.0  0.0
7 21.1 23.3 45.0
 50 * 3600 / 5280  34.09 (mi/hr or mph)
8 23.3 25.0 60.0
 Time Mean Speed

Mile
post

Observation Period

50  45  50  35  40  40  45  60
vt   45.6 (ft/sec)
8
 Space Mean Speed
Observation Distance

Observation Period
100 * 8
vs   44.2(ft/sec)  30.1(mi/hr)
 2  2.3  2  2.9  2.5  2.5  2.2  1.7 
 Volume (q)
• Number of vehicles passing a point during
a given time interval
• Typically quantified by Rate of Flow
(vehicles per hour)

8
q  1152 (veh/hr or vph)
25 / 3600
Volume (q)
 Density (k)
• Number of vehicles occupying a given
length of roadway
• Typically measured as vehicles per mile
(vpm),
or vehicles per
mile per lane
(vpmpl)
Density (k)
 Density (k)

q(veh/hr)  v(mi/hr) * k(veh/mi)

1152 (veh/hr)  30.1(mi/hr) * k

k  1152 / 30.1  38.22(veh/mi)
 Spacing (s)
• Front bumper to front bumper distance
between successive vehicles

S2-3 S1-2
 Headway (h)
• Time between successive vehicles passing
a fixed point

T=3sec
T=0 sec
h1-2=3sec
Spacing and Headway

spacing

headway
 Spacing and Headway
What are the individual headways and the average headway measured at
location A during the 25 sec period?

A
 Spacing and Headway
What are the individual headways and the average headway measured at
location A during the 25 sec period?

Time of Location (ft)

A Passing (sec) 600 700
1 0.0 2.0
h1-2
2 4.4 6.7
3 6.0 8.0 h2-3

Vehicle
4 11.4 14.3
5 15.0 17.5
6 17.5 20.0
7 21.1 23.3
8 23.3 25.0
 Lane Occupancy
• Ratio of roadway occupied by vehicles

L3 L2 L1

D
L i
LO  i
D
 Clearance (c) and Gap (g)
• Front bumper to back bumper distance
and time
Clearance (ft) or Gap (sec)

Lavg
g avg  havg 
vavg Spacing (ft) or headway (sec)

cavg  g avg * vavg