Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
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.
An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections are often delineated by gores and may be classified by road segments, traffic controls and lane design.
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.
Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa – are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control the flow of traffic.
Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers in the neighbourhoods. It aims to encourage safer, more responsible driving and potentially reduce traffic flow. Urban planners and traffic engineers have many strategies for traffic calming, including narrowed roads and speed humps. Such measures are common in Australia and Europe, but less so in North America. Traffic calming is a calque of the German word Verkehrsberuhigung – the term's first published use in English was in 1985 by Carmen Hass-Klau.
Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduced, for example the fingerposts in the United Kingdom and their wooden counterparts in Saxony.
The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways is a document issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) to specify the standards by which traffic signs, road surface markings, and signals are designed, installed, and used. In the United States, all traffic control devices must legally conform to these standards. The manual is used by state and local agencies as well as private construction firms to ensure that the traffic control devices they use conform to the national standard. While some state agencies have developed their own sets of standards, including their own MUTCDs, these must substantially conform to the federal MUTCD.
A crossing guard, lollipop man/lady, crosswalk attendant, or school road patrol is a traffic management personnel who is normally stationed on busy roadways to aid pedestrians. Often associated with elementary school children, crossing guards stop the flow of traffic so pedestrians may cross an intersection.
A junction is where two or more roads meet.
Road signs in Sweden are regulated in Vägmärkesförordningen, VMF (2007:90), and are to be placed 2 metres from the road with the sign 1.6 m from the base for motorized roads. Except for route numbers, there are a maximum of three signs on a pole, with the most important sign at the top. All signs have a reflective layer added on selected parts of the sign as is custom in European countries; most larger signs also have their own illumination.
Road traffic control involves directing vehicular and pedestrian traffic around a construction zone, accident or other road disruption, thus ensuring the safety of emergency response teams, construction workers and the general public.
In traffic engineering, there are regional and national variations in traffic light operation. This may be in the standard traffic light sequence or by the use of special signals.
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).
The design of road signs in Poland is regulated by Regulation of the Ministers of Infrastructure and Interior Affairs and Administration on road signs and signals. The Annex 1 to the regulation describes conditions related to usage of the road signs – size, visibility, colors and light reflections, typeface and text, criteria of choosing the type of foil to signs faces, colorful specimens and schematics.
Road traffic control devices are markers, signs and signal devices used to inform, guide and control traffic, including pedestrians, motor vehicle drivers and bicyclists. These devices are usually placed adjacent, over or along the highways, roads, traffic facilities and other public areas that require traffic control.
Road signs in Canada may conform to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Canada (MUTCDC) by the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) for use by Canadian jurisdictions. Although it serves a similar role to the MUTCD from the US Federal Highway Administration, it has been independently developed and has a number of key differences with its American counterpart, most notably the inclusion of bilingual (English/French) signage for jurisdictions such as New Brunswick with significant anglophone and francophone population, and a heavier reliance on symbols rather than text legends.
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.
Automated Flagger Assistance Device (AFAD) is a specialized piece of safety equipment used in the traffic control industry on roadway work zones. AFADs were designed as an innovative solution to the dangers of traditional traffic control, aiming to increase the safely and efficiency of work zones. AFADs operate daily, short-term lane closure work zones and can work on a variety of job types including stationary jobs, intersections, mobile utility jobs, road construction jobs, among others. AFADs are intended to allow a single worker to control the job site off the road and out of direct traffic flow. However, it is important to note that AFADs are not a replacement for traditional traffic control flaggers. Due to widespread regulations against fully automated traffic control, AFADs must be used in conjunction with human flaggers to ensure safe and effective traffic management. Improvements in AFAD technology has led to increased popularity in recent years.
Crosswalks in the United States and Canada are normally found at intersections, though sometimes may be found mid-block. Crosswalk installations must follow the regulations specified in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). At signalized intersections, crosswalks may have pedestrian signals which display symbols to mandate when pedestrians may cross the street.
