TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 731: Guidelines for Timing Yellow and All-Red Intervals at Signalized Intersections offers guidance for yellow change and all-red clearance intervals at signalized intersections. The guidelines provide a framework that can be easily applied by state and local transportation agencies.
This report serves as a comprehensive guide to traffic signal timing and documents the tasks completed in association with its development. The focus of this document is on traffic signal control principles, practices, and procedures. It describes the relationship between traffic signal timing and transportation policy and addresses maintenance and operations of traffic signals. It represents a synthesis of traffic signal timing concepts and their application and focuses on the use of detection, related timing parameters, and resulting effects to users at the intersection. It discusses advanced topics briefly to raise awareness related to their use and application. The purpose of the Signal Timing Manual is to provide direction and guidance to managers, supervisors, and practitioners based on sound practice to proactively and comprehensively improve signal timing. The outcome of properly training staff and proactively operating and maintaining traffic signals is signal timing that reduces congestion and fuel consumption ultimately improving our quality of life and the air we breathe. This manual provides an easy-to-use concise, practical and modular guide on signal timing. The elements of signal timing from policy and funding considerations to timing plan development, assessment, and maintenance are covered in the manual. The manual is the culmination of research into practices across North America and serves as a reference for a range of practitioners, from those involved in the day to day management, operation and maintenance of traffic signals to those that plan, design, operate and maintain these systems.
"TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 812: Signal Timing Manual - Second Edition, covers fundamentals and advanced concepts related to signal timing. The report addresses ways to develop a signal timing program based on the operating environment, users, user priorities by movement, and local operational objectives. Advanced concepts covered in the report include the systems engineering process, adaptive signal control, preferential vehicle treatments, and timing strategies for over-saturated conditions, special events, and inclement weather. An overview PowerPoint presentation accompanies the report." --
This handbook, which was developed in recognition of the need for the compilation and dissemination of information on advanced traffic control systems, presents the basic principles for the planning, design, and implementation of such systems for urban streets and freeways. The presentation concept and organization of this handbook is developed from the viewpoint of systems engineering. Traffic control studies are described, and traffic control and surveillance concepts are reviewed. Hardware components are outlined, and computer concepts, and communication concepts are stated. Local and central controllers are described, as well as display, television and driver information systems. Available systems technology and candidate system definition, evaluation and implementation are also covered. The management of traffic control systems is discussed.
Before they begin their university studies, most students have experience with traffic signals, as drivers, pedestrians and bicycle riders. One of the tasks of the introductory course in transportation engineering is to portray the traffic signal control system in a way that connects with these experiences. The challenge is to reveal the system in a simple enough way to allow the student "in the door," but to include enough complexity so that this process of learning about signalized intersections is both challenging and rewarding. We have approached the process of developing this module with the following guidelines: * Focusing on the automobile user and pretimed signal operation allows the student to learn about fundamental principles of a signalized intersection, while laying the foundation for future courses that address other users (pedestrians, bicycle riders, public transit operators) and more advanced traffic control schemes such as actuated control, coordinated signal systems, and adaptive control. * Queuing models are presented as a way of learning about the fundamentals of traffic flow at a signalized intersection. A graphical approach is taken so that students can see how flow profile diagrams, cumulative vehicle diagrams, and queue accumulation polygons are powerful representations of the operation and performance of a signalized intersection. * Only those equations that students can apply with some degree of understanding are presented. For example, the uniform delay equation is developed and used as a means of representing intersection performance. However, the second and third terms of the Highway Capacity Manual delay equation are not included, as students will have no basis for understanding the foundation of these terms. * Learning objectives are clearly stated at the beginning of each section so that the student knows what is to come. At the end of each section, the learning objectives are reiterated along with a set of concepts that students should understand once they complete the work in the section. * Over 70 figures are included in the module. We believe that graphically illustrating basic concepts is an important way for students to learn, particularly for queuing model concepts and the development of the change and clearance timing intervals. * Over 50 computational problems and two field exercises are provided to give students the chance to test their understanding of the material. The sequence in which concepts are presented in this module, and the way in which more complex ideas build on the more fundamental ones, was based on our study of student learning in the introductory course. The development of each concept leads to an element in the culminating activity: the design and evaluation of a signal timing plan in section 9. For example, to complete step 1 of the design process, the student must learn about the sequencing and control of movements, presented in section 3 of this module. But to determine split times, step 6 of the design process, four concepts must be learned including flow (section 2), sequencing and control of movements (section 3), sufficiency of capacity (section 6), and cycle length and splits (section 8). Depending on the pace desired by the instructor, this material can be covered in 9 to 12 class periods.
Global Practices on Road Traffic Signal Control is a valuable reference on the current state-of-the-art of road traffic signal control around the world. The book provides a detailed description of the common principles of road traffic signal control using a well-defined and consistent format that examines their application in countries and regions across the globe. This important resource considers the differences and special considerations across countries, providing useful insights into selecting control strategies for signal timing at intersections and pedestrian crosswalks. The book's authors also include success stories for coping with increasing traffic-related problems, examining both constraints and the reasons behind them. Presents a comprehensive reference on country-by-country practices on road traffic signal control Compiles and compares approaches across countries Covers theories and common principles Examines the most current systems and their implementation
Human Factors and Ergonomics have made a considerable contribution to the research, design, development, operation and analysis of transportation systems which includes road and rail vehicles and their complementary infrastructure, aviation and maritime transportation. This book presents recent advances in the Human Factors aspects of Transportation. These advances include accident analysis, automation of vehicles, comfort, distraction of drivers (understanding of distraction and how to avoid it), environmental concerns, in-vehicle systems design, intelligent transport systems, methodological developments, new systems and technology, observational and case studies, safety, situation awareness, skill development and training, warnings and workload. This book brings together the most recent human factors work in the transportation domain, including empirical research, human performance and other types of modeling, analysis, and development. The issues facing engineers, scientists, and other practitioners of human factors in transportation research are becoming more challenging and more critical. The common theme across these sections is that they deal with the intersection of the human and the system. Moreover, many of the chapter topics cross section boundaries, for instance by focusing on function allocation in NextGen or on the safety benefits of a tower controller tool. This is in keeping with the systemic nature of the problems facing human factors experts in rail and road, aviation and maritime research– it is becoming increasingly important to view problems not as isolated issues that can be extracted from the system environment, but as embedded issues that can only be understood as a part of an overall system.
Get a complete look into modern traffic engineering solutions Traffic Engineering Handbook, Seventh Edition is a newly revised text that builds upon the reputation as the go-to source of essential traffic engineering solutions that this book has maintained for the past 70 years. The updated content reflects changes in key industry standards, and shines a spotlight on the needs of all users, the design of context-sensitive roadways, and the development of more sustainable transportation solutions. Additionally, this resource features a new organizational structure that promotes a more functionally-driven, multimodal approach to planning, designing, and implementing transportation solutions. A branch of civil engineering, traffic engineering concerns the safe and efficient movement of people and goods along roadways. Traffic flow, road geometry, sidewalks, crosswalks, cycle facilities, shared lane markings, traffic signs, traffic lights, and more—all of these elements must be considered when designing public and private sector transportation solutions. Explore the fundamental concepts of traffic engineering as they relate to operation, design, and management Access updated content that reflects changes in key industry-leading resources, such as the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), AASSHTO Policy on Geometric Design, Highway Safety Manual (HSM), and Americans with Disabilities Act Understand the current state of the traffic engineering field Leverage revised information that homes in on the key topics most relevant to traffic engineering in today's world, such as context-sensitive roadways and sustainable transportation solutions Traffic Engineering Handbook, Seventh Edition is an essential text for public and private sector transportation practitioners, transportation decision makers, public officials, and even upper-level undergraduate and graduate students who are studying transportation engineering.
"This report completes and updates the first edition of NCHRP Report 600: Human Factors Guidelines for Road Systems (HFG), which was published previously in three collections. The HFG contains guidelines that provide human factors principles and findings for consideration by, and is a resource document for, highway designers, traffic engineers, and other safety practitioners."--Foreword.
