HCM

2010 Metric Analysis Guidelines

PreparedbytheUserLiaisonsubcommittee(2/20/2012) Purpose TheHCM2010isthefifthmajoreditionoftheHighwayCapacityManual.Unlikethe2000HCM producedinbothUSCustomaryandmetricunits,thelatestmanualiswrittensolelyinUSCustomary units.Thisincludesinputparameters,coefficientsinformulas,andcomputationalengines(whereno metricversionshavebeendeveloped).Therefore,somegeneralguidelinesforperformingametric analysisusingtheHCM2010proceduresareappropriate. Soft Conversion versus Hard Conversion BecauseofthemethodologyconstraintsresultingfromselectionofUSCustomaryunits,userswith metricdesignsmustconvertinputdataintoUSCustomaryunitspriortoanalysis.Thisshouldbedone primarilythroughsoftconversion. SoftconversionmeansthemetricinputvaluesareconvertedintoUSCustomaryunitswithoutrounding, usingstandardconversionmultipliers,whicharethenusedintheanalysis.Outputmeasureswillbein USCustomaryunits,whichwillthenrequireconversionbackintometricunitsforreportingresults. WhileconversionfrommetrictoUSCustomaryunitsisstraightforward,therewillbeinstanceswhere someroundingisneeded.Oneplacewherethiscouldoccuriswithlanewidths.Metriclanewidths, whenconvertedtoUSCustomarywidths,mayrequiretheanalysttoinputawholeunitfortheanalysis. Thisisreferredtoasahardconversion.Forexample: 3.6m3.281ft/m=11.81ftroundupto12ft Theuserwouldtheninput12feetasthelanewidthintotheanalysis.Thisissayingthe3.6mlanewidth isoperationallyequivalenttoa12ftlanewidth.TheappropriateconversionsareshowninTable1for bothlanewidthandshoulderwidth/lateralclearance,basedoffofthestandardUSCustomaryvalue. Table1.(a)LaneWidthConversions,(b)ShoulderWidth/LateralClearanceConversions (a) (b) LaneWidth ShoulderWidth/LateralClearance USCustomary(ft) Metric(m) USCustomary(ft) Metric(m) 12 3.6 10 3.0 11 3.3 8 2.4 10 3.0 6 1.8 9 2.7 4 1.2 2 0.6

Notethathardconversioninputs,asshowninTable1,shouldonlybeusedwhentheinputparameteris expectedtobeawholenumberinthemethodology.TheusershouldrefertotheHCM2010for guidanceontheexpectedinputvaluesanddetermineforthemselveswhetherhardorsoftconversionis mostappropriate1. Anotherparameterwherehardconversionmaybeappropriateisfreeflowspeed(FFS),orspeedlimit. Whereananalysisrequirestheinputofawholevalueofspeed,themetricvaluemustbeequatedtoa USCustomaryinputvalue.Table2providestheappropriateconversion. Table2.SpeedConversionfromUSCustomarytoMetric(1mi/h=1.609km/h) USCustomary(mi/h) SoftConversion(km/h) HardConversion(km/h) 25 40.2 40 30 48.3 50 35 56.3 55 40 64.4 65 45 72.4 70 50 80.5 80 55 88.5 90 60 96.5 95 65 104.6 105 70 112.6 110 75 120.7 120 Comparing Results to the 2000 HCM UsersarecautionedconcerningdirectcomparisonwithresultsobtainedfromtheHCM2000.The metricversionofthatmanualwasacompletehardconversionedition.Methodologiesandgraphswere convertedandcreatedinmetricunits.Withthe2010HCM,conversionofmetricinputsintoUS Customaryunitsandthenrunningtheanalysiswillproduceslightlydifferentresultswhencomparedto themetricHCM2000.Further,manyofthemethodologiesinthe2010HCMarecompletelydifferent thanthepreviousversion(e.g.,freewayweaving,signalizedintersections,urbanstreets,and roundabouts). Service Measures Usersinthemetriccommunityareencouragedtousesoftconversiontodescribethethresholdvalues foraspecificservicemeasureofeffectiveness.Thiswillfacilitatecommunicationwithotherusersand decisionmakersonacommonbasis.Softconversionalsoenablesanotherpersonreplicatingthe calculationsusingsoftconversiontoobtainthesameresult. Usersarealsocautionedwhenresultsshowvaluesneartheboundarybetweenlevelsofservicefora specificservicemeasure.Becausesomeinputparametersmayhavebeenconvertedusingahard conversion(likelanewidthorspeed),theresultsmayshowonelevelofservicewhentheadjacentlevel ofserviceismoreaccurate.Resultswithinthemiddleoftheservicemeasurerangeareusuallynot affectedbyhardconversionversussoftconversion.
Notethatp.16oftheHCM2010statesasoftconversionisfavoredfromU.S.customaryunitstometricunits, sothatcomputationalenginesproducethesameresultregardlessofthemeasurementsystemused.
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 Common Conversions Throughoutthemanual,variousinputoroutputparameterswillneedconversionfromonesystemto theother.Thefollowingtableshowstheappropriateunitdesignationformanyoftheseparameters alongwiththeconversionfactor. Table3.RecommendedUnitConversions

Quantity Length USCustomaryUnit inch foot mile day hour minute second lane personorpedestrian vehicle passengercar bus slug pound horsepower cubicinch vehiclesperhour pedestriansperhour personspervehicle busesperhour passengercarsperhour passengercarsperhour perlane vehiclemiles secondspervehicle passengercarspermile perlane milesperhour personsperseat squarefeetper pedestrian secondspervehicle inchesperhour U.S. Customary Symbol in ft mi day h min s ln p veh pc bus slug lb hp in3 veh/h p/h p/veh buses/h pc/h pc/h/ln vehmi s/veh pc/mi/ln mi/h p/seat ft2/p s/veh in/h MetricUnit millimeter meter kilometer day hour minute second lane personorpedestrian vehicle passengercar bus kilogram newton kilowatt cubiccentimeter vehiclesperhour pedestriansperhour personspervehicle busesperhour passengercarsperhour passengercarsperhour perlane vehiclekilometers secondspervehicle passengercarsper kilometerperlane kilometerperhour personsperseat squaremeterper pedestrian secondspervehicle millimetersperhour Metric Symbol mm m km day h min s ln p veh pc bus kg N kW cm3 veh/h p/h p/veh bus/h pc/h pc/h/ln vehkm s/veh pc/km/ln km/h p/seat m2/p s/veh mm/h Conversion Factorfrom U.S.toMetric 25.4mm/in 0.3048m/ft 1.609km/mi na na na na na na na na na 14.59kg/slug 4.448N/lb 0.746kW/hp 16.387cm3/in3 na na na na na na 1.609km/mi na 0.621mi/km 1.609km/h na 0.0929m2/ft2 na 25.4mm/in

Time

TrafficLane Personor Vehicle

Mass Weight Power EngineSize FlowRate

SaturationFlow Rate TotalTravel Delay Density Speed LoadFactor Space Headway Precipitation Rate

Disclaimer Theseguidelinesarenotanofficialsupplementtothe2010HCM,norendorsedbytheTransportation ResearchBoard.TheseguidelineswereindependentlydevelopedwithintheUserLiaisonSubcommittee oftheTRBHighwayCapacityandQualityofServiceCommitteeasguidancetothemetricuser communityinusingthe2010HCM.Usersaresolelyresponsibleforinterpretingandconvertinginputs andoutputsinmetricunitsandinreportingresults.