Turning movement counters

Last updated March 22, 2019

In order to assess intersections turning movement counters (TMC's) are used to quantify the movement of vehicles through the area.

These TMC's are square shaped boxes that have buttons for each direction of traffic flow. For example, east bound traffic entering an intersection has a button for those vehicles that turn, left, right or continue straight. Furthermore, an additional button is used for each direction to add the number of pedestrian and bicyclist movement. Typically automated traffic counters assess traffic flows, however, due to the differing angles of vehicles entering an intersection the present technology available is not able to quantify the traffic without major error. Traditional automated traffic counters have rubber tubes which are laid out across the road generally in a straight portion in order to have the wheels on the same axle hit at about the same time. When turning in an intersection the tires hit individually and the amount of error in the counter is increased. This means that TMC's are the only present option for quantifying traffic flows. They are used manually by an individual pressing the correlating button for every vehicle that enters and moves through the intersection.

In mathematics and civil engineering, traffic flow is the study of interactions between travellers and infrastructure, with the aim of understanding and developing an optimal transport network with efficient movement of traffic and minimal traffic congestion problems.

A traffic count is a count of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, which is conducted along a particular road, path, or intersection. A traffic count is commonly undertaken either automatically, or manually by observers who visually count and record traffic on a hand-held electronic device or tally sheet. Traffic counts can be used by local councils to identify which routes are used most, and to either improve that road or provide an alternative if there is an excessive amount of traffic. Also, some geography fieldwork involves a traffic count. Traffic counts provide the source data used to calculate the Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT), which is the common indicator used to represent traffic volume. Traffic counts are useful for comparing two or more roads, and can also be used alongside other methods to find out where the central business district (CBD) of a settlement is located. Traffic counts that include speeds are used in speed limit enforcement efforts, highlighting peak speeding periods to optimise speed camera use and educational efforts.

An intersection is an at-grade junction where two or more roads meet or cross. Intersections may be classified by number of road segments, traffic controls, and/or lane design.

TMC's are generally used to determine whether the intersection needs a traffic light. Equations are used to decide whether the volume of the traffic determines that a light is needed. This equation is based on the road classification, entering speed and pedestrian/bicyclist movement through the intersection. A total of eight hours of turning movement is generally mandated for this type of assessment.

Traffic lights, also known as traffic signals, traffic lamps, traffic semaphore, signal lights, stop lights, robots, and traffic control signals, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations to control flows of traffic.

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A 3-way junction is a type of road intersection with three arms. A Y junction generally has 3 arms of equal size. A T junction also has 3 arms, but one of the arms is generally a minor road connecting to a larger road.

A pedestrian crossing or crosswalk is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road. Pelican crosswalks are designed to keep pedestrians together where they can be seen by motorists, and where they can cross most safely across the flow of vehicular traffic.

Level of service (LOS) is a qualitative measure used to relate the quality of motor vehicle traffic service. LOS is used to analyze roadways and intersections by categorizing traffic flow and assigning quality levels of traffic based on performance measure like vehicle speed, density, congestion, etc.

Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), are systems to help the driver in the driving process. When designed with a safe human-machine interface, they should increase car safety and more generally road safety.

A jughandle is a type of ramp or slip road that changes the way traffic turns left at an at-grade intersection. Instead of a standard left turn being made from the left lane, left-turning traffic uses a ramp on the right side of the road. In a standard forward jughandle or near-side jughandle, the ramp leaves before the intersection, and left-turning traffic turns left off it rather than the through road. Right turns are also made using the jughandle.

Vehicular cycling is the practice of riding bicycles on roads in a manner that is in accordance with the principles for driving in traffic, and in a way that places responsibility for safety on the individual.

Traffic law in China is still in its nascent stage. Therefore, the rules of the road in China are understood to mean both the codified and uncodified practices, procedures and norms of behavior generally followed by motorists, cyclists and pedestrians in the mainland of China.

In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that uses grade separation, and typically one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without interruption from other crossing traffic streams. It differs from a standard intersection, where roads cross at grade. Interchanges are almost always used when at least one road is a controlled-access highway or a limited-access divided highway (expressway), though they are sometimes used at junctions between surface streets.

Signal timing is the technique which traffic engineers use to distribute right-of-way at a signalized intersection. Signal timing involves deciding how much green time the traffic signal provides to an intersection approach, how long the pedestrian WALK signal should be, and numerous other factors.

The use of traffic lights to control the movement of traffic differs regionally and internationally in certain respects. This article describes some of these non-universal features. Note that the color phase commonly known as "yellow" is often referred to, especially in official usage, as "amber"; for consistency this article uses "yellow" throughout.

Priority to the right is a right-of-way system, in which the driver of a vehicle is required to give way to vehicles approaching from the right at intersections. The system is stipulated in Article 18.4.a of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic for countries where traffic keeps to the right and applies to all intersections where it is not overridden by priority signs, including side roads and roundabouts.

An all-way stop is an intersection system used predominantly in the United States of America, SADC, Liberia and Canada where traffic approaching it from all directions is required to stop before proceeding through the intersection. An all-way stop may have multiple approaches and may be marked with a supplemental plate stating the number of approaches.

Bicycle law in the United States is the law of the United States that regulates the use of bicycles. Although bicycle law is a relatively new specialty within the law, first appearing in the late 1980s, its roots date back to the 1880s and 1890s, when cyclists were using the courts to assert a legal right to use the roads. In 1895, George B. Clementson, an American attorney, wrote The Road Rights and Liabilities of Wheelmen, the first book on bicycle law, in which he discussed the seminal cases of the 1880s and 1890s, which were financed by Albert Pope of Columbia Bicycles, and through which cyclists gained the right to the road. This is a very gut Seite

These road signs are used in Germany.

Scalable Urban Traffic Control (Surtrac) is an adaptive traffic control system developed by researchers at the Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Surtrac dynamically optimizes the control of traffic signals to improve traffic flow for both urban grids and corridors; optimization goals include less waiting, reduced traffic congestion, shorter trips, and less pollution. The core control engine combines schedule-driven intersection control with decentralized coordination mechanisms. Since June 2012, a pilot implementation of the Surtrac system has been deployed on nine intersections in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Surtrac reduced travel times more than 25% on average, and wait times were reduced an average of 40%. A second phase of the pilot program for the Bakery Square district has been running since October 2013.. In 2015, Rapid Flow Technologies was formed to commercialize the Surtrac technology. The lead inventor of this technology, Dr. Xiao-Feng Xie, states that he has no association with and does not provide technology supports for this company.

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.

References

Murthy, Narasimha & Henry R. Mohle. "Transportation Engineering Basics", ASCE Press

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