Instrumentation is a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making.
A sidewalk, pavement, footpath in Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland, or footway, is a path along the side of a road. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick, stone, or asphalt, it is designed for pedestrians. A sidewalk is normally higher than the roadway, and separated from it by a kerb. There may also be a planted strip between the sidewalk and the roadway and between the roadway and the adjacent land.
An intelligent transportation system (ITS) is an advanced application which aims to provide innovative services relating to different modes of transport and traffic management and enable users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated, and 'smarter' use of transport networks.
A pedestrian crossing is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road signs and road traffic.
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.
Traffic engineering is a branch of civil engineering that uses engineering techniques to achieve the safe and efficient movement of people and goods on roadways. It focuses mainly on research for safe and efficient traffic flow, such as road geometry, sidewalks and crosswalks, cycling infrastructure, traffic signs, road surface markings and traffic lights. Traffic engineering deals with the functional part of transportation system, except the infrastructures provided.
Floating car data (FCD) in traffic engineering and management is typically timestamped geo-localization and speed data directly collected by moving vehicles, in contrast to traditional traffic data collected at a fixed location by a stationary device or observer. In a physical interpretation context, FCD provides a Lagrangian description of the vehicle movements whereas stationary devices provide an Eulerian description. The participating vehicle acts itself consequently as a moving sensor using an onboard GPS receiver or cellular phone. The most common and widespread use of FCD is to determine the traffic speed on the road network. Based on these data, traffic congestion can be identified, travel times can be calculated, and traffic reports can be rapidly generated. In contrast to stationary devices such as traffic cameras, number plate recognition systems, and induction loops embedded in the roadway, no additional hardware on the road network is necessary.
A data logger is an electronic device that records data over time or about location either with a built-in instrument or sensor or via external instruments and sensors. Increasingly, but not entirely, they are based on a digital processor, and called digital data loggers (DDL). They generally are small, battery-powered, portable, and equipped with a microprocessor, internal memory for data storage, and sensors. Some data loggers interface with a personal computer and use software to activate the data logger and view and analyze the collected data, while others have a local interface device and can be used as a stand-alone device.
Weigh-in-motion or weighing-in-motion (WIM) devices are designed to capture and record the axle weights and gross vehicle weights as vehicles drive over a measurement site. Unlike static scales, WIM systems are capable of measuring vehicles traveling at a reduced or normal traffic speed and do not require the vehicle to come to a stop. This makes the weighing process more efficient, and, in the case of commercial vehicles, allows for trucks under the weight limit to bypass static scales or inspection.
An induction or inductive loop is an electromagnetic communication or detection system which uses a moving magnet or an alternating current to induce an electric current in a nearby wire. Induction loops are used for transmission and reception of communication signals, or for detection of metal objects in metal detectors or vehicle presence indicators. A common modern use for induction loops is to provide hearing assistance to hearing-aid users.
Non-motorized access on freeways may allow or restrict pedestrians, bicyclists and other non-motorized traffic to use a freeway. Such roads are public ways intended primarily for high-speed travel over long distances, and they have resulted in highways in the United States with engineering features such as long sight-distances, wide marked lanes and the absence of cross traffic. These provide faster and safer travel, at least for vehicles driving at similar speeds.
Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a year divided by 365 days. AADT is a simple, but useful, measurement of how busy the road is.
The Infra-Red Traffic Logger, more commonly known simply by the acronym TIRTL, is a multi-purpose traffic sensor that can be used as a traffic counter, speed sensor, red light camera sensor, heavy vehicle tracker, overheight vehicle sensor, rail crossing sensor and network management system. The initial development of the device started in 1997 in conjunction with the New South Wales Roads & Traffic Authority and started commercial domestic and international sales in 2002. It is currently in use in sixteen countries.
A motorized scooter is a stand-up scooter powered by either a small internal combustion engine or electric hub motor in its front and/or rear wheel. Classified as a form of micro-mobility, they are generally designed with a large center deck on which the rider stands. The first motorized scooter was manufactured by Autoped in 1915.
Traffic Optimization are the methods by which time stopped in road traffic is reduced.
In the United States, road signs are, for the most part, standardized by federal regulations, most notably in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and its companion volume the Standard Highway Signs (SHS).
IRIS is an open-source Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) software project developed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. It is used by transportation agencies to monitor and manage interstate and highway traffic. IRIS uses the GPL license.
Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except where cyclists are barred such as many freeways/motorways. It includes amenities such as bike racks for parking, shelters, service centers and specialized traffic signs and signals. The more cycling infrastructure, the more people get about by bicycle.
Terminology related to road transport—the transport of passengers or goods on paved routes between places—is diverse, with variation between dialects of English. There may also be regional differences within a single country, and some terms differ based on the side of the road traffic drives on. This glossary is an alphabetical listing of road transport terms.
Bicycle counters are electronic devices that detect the number of bicycles passing by a location for a certain period of time. Some advanced counters can also detect the speed, direction, and type of bicycles. These systems are sometimes referred to as bicycle barometers, but the term is misleading because it indicates the measurement of pressure. Most counting stations only consist of sensors, the internal computing device, although some use a display to show the total number of cyclists of the day and the current year. There are counting stations all over the world in over hundreds of cities, for example in Manchester, Zagreb, or Portland. The first bicycle counting station was installed in Odense, Denmark, in 2002.
