Highway Capacity Manual 2010

5. FIELD MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES

Thissectiondescribestwotechniquesforestimatingkeyvehiculartraffic
characteristicsbyusingfielddata.Thefirsttechniqueisusedtoestimatefree
flowspeed.Thesecondtechniqueisusedtoestimateaveragetravelspeed.
FREE-FLOW SPEED
Thefollowingstepscanbeusedtodeterminethefreeflowspeedfor
vehiculartrafficonanurbanstreetsegment.
Step1.Conductaspotspeedstudyatamidsegmentlocationduringlow
volumeconditions.Recordthespeedof100ormorefreeflowingpassengercars.
Acarisfreeflowingwhenithasaheadwayof8sormoretothevehicleahead
and5sormoretothevehiclebehindinthesametrafficlane.
Step2.ComputetheaverageofthespotspeedsSspotandtheirstandard
deviationspot.
Step3.ComputethesegmentfreeflowspeedSfasaspacemeanspeedby
usingEquation3062.

S f = Sspot

2
spot

Equation 30-62

Sspot

where

Sf = freeflowspeed(mi/h),

Sspot = averagespotspeed(mi/h),and
spot = standarddeviationofspotspeeds(mi/h).
Step4.IfthebasefreeflowspeedSfoisalsodesired,itcanbecomputedby
usingEquation3063.

S fo =

Sf

Equation 30-63

fL

with

f L = 1.02 4.7

S f 19 .5
max( L s , 400 )

1 .0

Equation 30-64

where

Sfo = basefreeflowspeed(mi/h),

Sf = freeflowspeed(mi/h),

Ls = distancebetweenadjacentsignalizedintersections(ft),and

fL = signalspacingadjustmentfactor.

Equation3064wasoriginallyderivedtousethebasefreeflowspeedSfoin
thenumeratorofitssecondterm.However,itissufficientforthisapplicationto
substitutethefreeflowspeedSf.

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December 2010

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Field Measurement Techniques

Highway Capacity Manual 2010

Equation3064wasderivedbyusingsignalizedboundaryintersections.For
moregeneralapplications,thedefinitionofdistanceLsisbroadenedsuchthatit
equalsthedistancebetweenthetwointersectionsthat(a)bracketthesubject
segmentand(b)eachhaveatypeofcontrolthatcanimposeonthesubject
throughmovementalegalrequirementtostoporyield.
AVERAGE TRAVEL SPEED
Thefollowingstepscanbeusedtodeterminetheaveragetravelspeedfor
vehiculartrafficonanurbanstreetsegment.
Step1.Identifythetimeoftheday(e.g.,morningpeak,eveningpeak,off
peak)duringwhichthestudywillbeconducted.Identifythesegmentstobe
evaluated.
Step2.Conductthetestcartraveltimestudyfortheidentifiedsegments
duringtheidentifiedstudyperiod.Thefollowingfactorsshouldbeconsidered
before,orduring,thefieldstudy.
Thenumberoftraveltimerunstobeconductedwilldependontherange
ofspeedsfoundonthestreet.Sixto12runsforeachtrafficvolume
conditionaretypicallyadequate.Theanalystshoulddeterminethe
minimumnumberofrunsonthebasisofguidanceprovidedelsewhere
(7).
Theobjectiveofthedatacollectionistoobtaintheinformationidentified
intheTravelTimeFieldWorksheet(i.e.,vehiclelocationandarrivaland
departuretimesateachboundaryintersection).Thisworksheetisshown
inExhibit3014.Ingeneral,eachrowofthisworksheetrepresentsthe
dataforonedirectionoftravelononesegment.Ifthestreetservestraffic
intwotraveldirections,separateworksheetsaretypicallyusedtorecord
thedataforeachdirectionoftravel.
Theequipmentusedtorecordthedatamayincludeaglobalpositioning
systemequippedlaptopcomputerorsimplyapairofstopwatches.If
available,aninstrumentedtestcarshouldbeusedtoreducelabor
requirementsandtofacilitaterecordingandanalysis.
Duringthetestrun,theaveragecartechniqueistypicallyusedand
requiresthatthetestcartravelattheaveragespeedofthetrafficstream,
asjudgedbyitsdriver(7).
Thecumulativetraveltimeisrecordedasthevehiclepassesthecenterof
eachboundaryintersection.Wheneverthetestcarstopsorslows(i.e.,
5mi/horless),theobserverusesasecondstopwatchtomeasurethe
durationoftimethevehicleisstoppedorslowed.Thisduration(andthe
causeofthedelay)isrecordedontheworksheetonthesamerowthatis
associatedwiththenextboundaryintersectiontobereached.Therows
areintentionallytallsothatamidsegmentdelayandthesignaldelaycan
bothberecordedinthesamecell.
Testcarrunsshouldbeginatdifferenttimepointsinthesignalcycleto
avoidhavingallrunsstartfromafirstinplatoonposition.

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Chapter 30/Urban Street Segments: Supplemental

December 2010

Highway Capacity Manual 2010

Somemidsegmentspeedometerreadingsshouldalsoberecordedto
checkonunimpededtravelspeedsandtoseehowtheyrelatetothe
estimatedfreeflowspeed.
Exhibit 30-14
Travel Time Field Worksheet

TRAVEL TIME FIELD WORKSHEET

General Information

Site Information

Analyst

Street

Agency or Company

Jurisdiction

Date Performed

Analysis Year

Analysis Time Period

Direction of Travel

Field Data
Run Number: __________________
Location
(typically a
Cumulative
boundary
Travel Time at
intersection)
Location (s)

Note:

Delays due to Slow

or Stop
Cause a

Delay
Time (s)

Run Number: _________________

Cumulative
Travel Time
at Location
(s)

Cause of delay: Ts - signal; Lt - left turn; Pd - pedestrian; Pk - parking; Ss -

Chapter 30/Urban Street Segments: Supplemental

December 2010

Page 30-37

Delays due to Slow

or Stop
Cause a

STOP

sign; Ys -

Delay
Time (s)

YIELD

sign.

Field Measurement Techniques

Highway Capacity Manual 2010

Step3.Thecumulativetraveltimeobservationsbetweenadjacentboundary
intersectionsaresubtractedtoobtainthetraveltimeforthecorresponding
segment.Thistraveltimecanbeaveragedforalltestrunstoobtainanaverage
segmenttraveltime.Thisaverageisthendividedintothesegmentlengthto
obtainanestimateoftheaveragetravelspeed.Thisspeedshouldbecomputed
foreachdirectionoftravelforthesegment.
Thedatashouldbesummarizedtoprovidethefollowingstatisticsforeach
segmenttraveldirection:averagetravelspeed,averagedelaytimeforthe
boundaryintersection,andaveragedelaytimeforothersources(pedestrian,
parkingmaneuver,etc.).
Theaveragesegmenttraveltimeforeachofseveralconsecutivesegmentsin
acommondirectionoftravelcanbeaddedtoobtainthetotaltraveltimeforthe
facility.Thistotaltraveltimecanthenbedividedintothefacilitylength(i.e.,the
totallengthofallsegments)toobtaintheaveragetravelspeedforthefacility.
Thiscalculationshouldberepeatedtoobtaintheaveragetravelspeedforthe
otherdirectionoftravel.

Field Measurement Techniques

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Chapter 30/Urban Street Segments: Supplemental

December 2010