DataQualityWhitePaper

Writtenby:KyounghoAhn1,HeshamRakha2,andDavidHill3

SeniorResearchAssociate,CenterforSustainableMobilityattheVirginiaTechTransportationInstitute
Director,CenterforSustainableMobilityattheVirginiaTechTransportationInstitute
3
VicePresident,FreeAheadInc.

Notice
ThisdocumentisdisseminatedunderthesponsorshipoftheU.S.DepartmentofTransportation
intheinterestofinformationexchange.TheU.S.Governmentassumesnoliabilityfortheuse
oftheinformationcontainedinthisdocument.Thisreportdoesnotconstituteastandard,
specification,orregulation.
TheU.S.Governmentdoesnotendorseproductsormanufacturers.Trademarksor
manufacturersnamesmayappearinthisreportonlybecausetheyareconsideredessentialto
theobjectiveofthedocument.

Quality Assurance Statement

TheU.S.DepartmentofTransportation("theDepartment")provideshighqualityinformationto
serveGovernment,industryandthepublicinamannerthatpromotespublic
understanding.Standardsandpoliciesareusedtoensureandmaximizethequality,
objectivity,utility,andintegrityofitsinformation.TheDepartmentperiodicallyreviewsquality
issuesandadjustsitsprogramsandprocessestoensurecontinuousqualityimprovements.

Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No.

FHWAHOP08038

2. Government Accession No.

3. Recipient's Catalog No.

4. Title and Subtitle

5. Report Date

June,2008

DataQualityWhitePaper
6. Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s)

8. Performing Organization Report No.

KyounghoAhn(1),HeshamRakha(1),andDavidHill(2)

9. Performing Organization Name and Address

10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

(1)VirginiaTechTransportationInstitute(2)FreeAheadInc.
3500TransportationResearchPlaza268GoldenWoodsCourt
Blacksburg,VA24061GreatFalls,VA22066

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

11. Contract or Grant No.

DTFH6106D00004
InterimReport
August2007June2008

FederalHighwayAdministration
OfficeofOperations
1200NewJerseyAvenue,SE
Washington,DC20590

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

15. Supplementary Notes

PerformedundersubcontracttoCambridgeSystematicsInc.(TaskOrderCA04029)
ContractingOfficer'sTechnicalRepresentative(COTR)Mr.JamesPol
16. Abstract

Thispaperlooksattheissueofdataqualitywithinthecontextoftransportationoperationsandmanagement.The
objectiveofthispaperistoinvestigatedataqualitymeasuresandhowtheyareappliedinexistingsystems.Thispaper
explorestherelevanceofthedataqualitymeasuresthatweredefinedinareportentitledTrafficDataQuality
Measuresandpresentsanoverviewoftherequirementsfortheimplementationofarealtimeinformationprogram.

Specifically,thispaperfocusesontherealtimetravelinformationapplicationswithinsixprimaryinterfaces(traffic
managementinformation,maintenanceandconstructionmanagement,transitmanagementandinformation,
informationserviceproviderinformation,parkinginformation,andemergencymanagementinformation)andtheir
associatedapplicationsasidentifiedinthepublicationofInterimGuidanceontheInformationSharingSpecifications
andDataExchangeFormatsfortheRealTimeSystemManagementInformationProgram.

ThepaperexaminedthequalityoftrafficdatainexistingrealtimeATISapplicationsforboththepublicandprivate
sector.Thepaperprovidesrecommendeddataqualitymeasuresforthreewidelyutilizedtrafficrelatedparameters,
traveltime,speed,andweatherinformation.Theserecommendationsweredefinedforeachofthesixdataquality
measures,accuracy,completeness,validity,timeliness,coverage,andaccessibility.

17. Key Word

18. Distribution Statement

dataquality,qualitymeasures,realtimeinformation
program,accuracy,completeness,validity,timeliness,
coverage,accessibility

Norestrictions.Thisdocumentisavailabletothepublic
throughtheNationalTechnicalInformationService,
Springfield,VA22161

19. Security Classif. (of this report)

20. Security Classif. (of this page)

Unclassified

Unclassified

Form DOT F 1700.7 (872)

Reproduction of completed page authorized

ii

21. No. of Pages

47

22. Price

TableofContents

ListofAcronyms........................................................................................................................................... iv
Chapter1Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1
1.1Background ......................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2ProjectObjectiveandScope ............................................................................................................... 2
1.3OrganizationofPaper ......................................................................................................................... 2
Chapter2LiteratureReviewofPreviousEfforts .......................................................................................... 3
2.1GuidelinesforDataQualityforATISApplications(2000)................................................................ 3
2.2TrafficDataQualityWorkshopProceedingsandActionPlan(2003) .............................................. 4
2.2.1DefiningandMeasuringTrafficDataQuality............................................................................... 5
2.2.2StateofthepracticeforTrafficDataQuality.............................................................................. 6
2.2.3AdvancesinTrafficDataCollectionandManagement................................................................ 6
2.2.4ActionPlanDevelopmentofTrafficDataQualityWorkshops..................................................... 7
2.3TrafficDataQualityMeasurement(2004)....................................................................................... 8
2.4QualityControlProceduresforTrafficDataCollection(2006)...................................................... 10
2.5SummaryofPreviousEfforts ............................................................................................................ 11
Chapter3UseofDataQualityMeasuresinExistingSystems .................................................................... 12
3.1PublicSectorUse............................................................................................................................... 12
Accuracy.............................................................................................................................................. 12
Timeliness ........................................................................................................................................... 13
Reliability............................................................................................................................................. 13
ConsistencyofPresentation ............................................................................................................... 13
Relevancy ............................................................................................................................................ 13
3.2PrivateSectorUse............................................................................................................................. 14
Chapter4InformationSharingSpecificationsandDataExchangeFormats .............................................. 17
4.1SampleApplicationsforDataQualityMeasures .............................................................................. 17
4.2ITSApplicationsusingRealTimeInformation .................................................................................. 18
511 ...................................................................................................................................................... 18
Traffic.com .......................................................................................................................................... 19
RealTimeWeatherInformationSystem ............................................................................................ 19
4.3DataQualityMeasures...................................................................................................................... 20
4.3.1TravelTime................................................................................................................................. 21
4.3.2Speed ......................................................................................................................................... 23
iii

4.3.3WeatherData............................................................................................................................. 26
4.3.4SummaryofDataQualityMeasures .......................................................................................... 28
Chapter5ProposedRuleforRealTimeInformationProgram .................................................................. 30
5.1May2006RequestforComments .................................................................................................... 30
5.1.1ProgramPurpose ....................................................................................................................... 30
5.1.2ProgramFunding........................................................................................................................ 30
5.1.3ProgramGoals............................................................................................................................ 30
5.1.4ProgramOutcomes .................................................................................................................... 31
5.1.5ProgramParameters .................................................................................................................. 31
5.1.6InformationQuality.................................................................................................................... 33
5.1.7DataExchangeFormats ............................................................................................................. 34
5.2ResponsestotheRequestforInformation....................................................................................... 34
5.3TransportationSystemOperationsEnhancementsEnabledbytheProposedRule......................... 36
Chapter6ConclusionsandRecommendations .......................................................................................... 38
References .................................................................................................................................................. 39

ListofTables
Table1.AttributesandQualityLevelsofTrafficSensorData ...................................................................... 4
Table2.TrafficDataQualityforAustinCaseStudy ...................................................................................... 9
Table3.SampleDataQualityRequirement................................................................................................ 10
Table4.DataQualityRecommendationsfor511....................................................................................... 14
Table5.DataQualityforTrafficInformationServicesfromPrivateSectors.............................................. 16
Table6.TheSixPrimaryInterfacesandAssociatedApplications............................................................... 18
Table7.SpeedAccuracyRequirementforTransportationApplications.................................................... 25
Table8.DataQualityRequirementforTransportationApplications ......................................................... 26
Table9.RecommendedDataQualityMeasuresforRealtimeTravelInformationApplications .............. 29

iv

ListofAcronyms

AADT
ADMS
ATIS
AVL
Caltrans
CATTLab
CCTV
FHWA
FZRA
GPS
HAR
HOT
IP
ISP
ITS
MAPE
PDA
PeMS
PI
RADS
RMSE
RTSMIP
RWIS
SAE
SAFETEALU
SN
TMDD
TMS
TTE
TxDOT
VMS
VSPOC

AnnualAverageDailyTraffic
ArchivedDataManagementSystem
AdvancedTravelerInformationSystems
AutomatedVehicleLocation
CaliforniaDepartmentofTransportation
CenterforAdvancedTransportationTechnologyLaboratory
ClosedCircuitTelevision
FederalHighwayAdministration
FreezingRain
GlobalPositioningSystem
HighwayAdvisoryRadio
HighOccupancyToll
InternetProtocol
InformationServiceProvider
IntelligentTransportationSystem
MeanAbsolutePercentError
PersonalDigitalAssistant
PerformanceMeasurementSystem
PrecipitationIdentifier
RegionalArchivedDataServer
RootMeanSquaredError
RealTimeSystemManagementInformationProgram
RoadwayWeatherInformationSystem
SocietyofAutomotiveEngineers
Safe,Accountable,Flexible,EfficientTransportationEquityAct:ALegacyfor
Users
Snow
TrafficManagementDataDictionary
TrafficManagementSystem
TravelTimeEstimation
TexasDepartmentofTransportation
VariableMessageSign
Volume,Speed,andOccupancy

Chapter1Introduction
Trafficdatacollection,withinthecontextoftransportationoperationandmanagement,isbecomingan
increasinglyvaluableassetfortodaystransportationarena.Significanttrafficdatahavebeengenerated
fromIntelligentTransportationSystems(ITS)technologiesinrecentyears.Thedatahavebeenwidely
utilizedinmanagingsystemoperationsandprovidinginformationontrafficconditions.However,public
andprivateusersarefindingthattheutilizationandoperationofthedataisanincreasinglydifficulttask
sincethedataarecollectedwithdifferentlevelsofaccuracyandresolution,anddataformatsare
incompatible.Furthermore,theproblemworsensastheamountofdatacontinuestogrow.Thequality
ofdataindatacollection,operation,andmanagementeffortshasresultedintheunderutilizationof
dataandincreasedutilizationcosts.Variousproblemswereidentifiedinrecentresearchefforts
regardingthequalityofdatafortransportationoperations,planning,trafficcongestioninformation,
transitandemergencyvehiclemanagement,and/orcommercialtruckoperations.[16].
Dataqualityhasbeenquestionedsincetheearlieststagesoftrafficdatacollection.Sincea
varietyofITSapplicationsandvarioustravelinformationsystemshaveuniquedatarequirements,the
matterofdataqualityhasbecomemoreurgent.Furthermore,inthelastfewyears,thisintricacyhas
beenmademorecomplexduetheemergenceofprivateserviceswhichareprovidingtrafficinformation
servicestothepublic.Turner[6]gaveadefinitionofdataqualityasthefitnessofdataforallpurposes
thatrequiredit.Measuringdataqualityrequiresanunderstandingofallintendedpurposesforthat
data.Trafficdatahasdifferentmeaning(s)todifferentconsumersandtheintendedusesofdatashould
beconsideredandunderstoodwhendesigning,implementingandoperatingdatacollectionsystems
andapplications.
Traditionaldatacollectionsystemsmaynotassurethequalityofdatathatsatisfythestateof
thearttransportationapplications.Thereareurgentneedsthatthespecificdataqualitymeasures
shouldbeconsideredforeachtrafficdataapplication.Thispaperinvestigatesthedataqualitymeasures
fortransportationdataandpresentsanoverviewoftherequirementsfortheimplementationofareal
timeinformationprogram.

1.1Background
Section1201oftheSafe,Accountable,Flexible,EfficientTransportationEquityAct:ALegacyforUsers
(SAFETEALU)requirestheSecretaryofTransportationtoestablishaRealTimeSystemManagement
InformationProgram(RTSMIP)toprovide,inallstates,thecapabilitytomonitor,inrealtime,the
trafficandtravelconditionsofthemajorhighwaysoftheUnitedStatesandtosharethatinformationto
improvethesecurityofthesurfacetransportationsystem,toaddresscongestionproblems,tosupport
improvedresponsetoweathereventsandsurfacetransportationincidents,andtofacilitatenational
andregionalhighwaytravelerinformation.Section1201alsorequirestheestablishmentofdata
exchangeformatstofacilitatetheexchangeofinformation.
ThepurposesoftheRTSMIPareto(1)establish,inallStates,asystemofbasicrealtime
informationformanagingandoperatingthesurfacetransportationsystem,(2)identifylongerrange
realtimehighwayandtransitmonitoringneedsanddevelopplansandstrategiesformeetingtheneeds,
and(3)providethecapabilityandmeanstosharethedatawithStateandlocalgovernmentsandthe
travelingpublic.RTSMIPwillprovidethecapabilitytomonitortherealtimetrafficandtravelconditions
ofthemajorU.S.highways.Furthermore,RTSMIPwillsharethatinformationtoimprovesurface
1

transportationsystemsecurity,addresscongestion,improveresponsetoweathereventsandincidents,
andfacilitatenationalandregionalhighwaytravelerinformation.
ThisproposedprogramrequiresestablishingminimumparametersandrequirementsforStates
tomakeavailableandsharetrafficandtravelconditioninformationviarealtimeinformationprograms
andalsoinvolvesgeneraluniformityamongtherealtimeinformationprogramstoensureconsistent
servicetotravelersandotheragencies.Informationsharingspecificationsanddataexchangeformats
weredevelopedbytheFederalHighwayAdministrationtoacceleratethesharingoftrafficandtravel
conditioninformation.Interimguidancewaspublishedtoengagethetransportationcommunityonan
appropriatecourseofactiontosimplifytheexchangeofrealtimeinformationprogramcontent.
Satisfyingdataqualityanddataaccuracyrequirementsisakeystepintheimplementationof
realtimeinformationprograms.Thedataqualityshouldbeconsideredinadvanceofdeveloping
congestionmanagementandtravelerinformationsystemapplicationsthatrelyupondatafromvarious
sources.Specificallythedataqualityrequirementsshouldbedefinedbyeachapplication.Forexample,
someapplicationssuchasHighOccupancyToll(HOT)operationsandothercongestionandvaluepricing
applicationsrequirehigheraccuracyandmorerapidavailabilityofdataincomparisontoother
applications.

1.2ProjectObjectiveandScope
Theobjectiveofthispaperistoinvestigatethedataqualitymeasuresandhowtheyareappliedin
existingsystems.Thispaperexplorestherelevanceofthedataqualitymeasuresthatweredefinedina
reportentitledTrafficDataQualityMeasuresandpresentsanoverviewoftherequirementsforthe
implementationofarealtimeinformationprogram.
Specifically,thispaperfocusesontherealtimetravelinformationapplicationswithinsix
primaryinterfaces(trafficmanagementinformation,maintenanceandconstructionmanagement,
transitmanagementandinformation,informationserviceproviderinformation,parkinginformation,
andemergencymanagementinformation)andtheirassociatedapplicationsasidentifiedinthe
publicationofInterimGuidanceontheInformationSharingSpecificationsandDataExchangeFormats
fortheRealTimeSystemManagementInformationProgram.

1.3OrganizationofPaper
Thispaperisorganizedintosixchapters.Thesecondchapterprovidesareviewofpreviousstudieson
dataqualitymeasures.Thethirdchapterpresentsanoverviewoftheutilizationofdataquality
measuresinpublicandprivatesectors.Chapterfourdiscussesthedataqualitymeasuresforrealtime
travelinformationapplications.Chapterfiveinvestigatestheproposedrealtimeinformationprogram.
Finally,chaptersixprovidesasummaryofthefindings,theconclusionsoftheresearcheffort,and
recommendationsforfurtherresearch.

Chapter2LiteratureReviewofPreviousEfforts
Thischapterhighlightstheexistingliteratureindataqualitymeasureswithanemphasisontrafficdata.
Thesubjectoftrafficdataqualityhasbeenanissuesincetheearliestdaysoftrafficdatacollection.The
growingdeploymentsofITSprojectsacrossNorthAmericaandworldwiderequireextensiveevaluation
ofdataqualityissues.Whilenewdatacollectiontechnologies,datacollectionmethods,andtheir
analyticalstudiesarewidelyusedinITSprojects,relativelyfewstudieshavebeenconductedtoevaluate
thequalityoftrafficdata.Thefollowingsectiondiscussesrecentlyconductedresearcheffortsregarding
trafficdataquality.

2.1GuidelinesforDataQualityforATISApplications(2000)
Recentresearchandanalysiseffortshaveidentifiedseveralissuesregardingthequalityoftrafficdata
availablefromITSapplicationsfortransportationoperations,planning,orotherfunctions.Forexample,
ITSAmericasAdvancedTravelerInformationSystems(ATIS)CommitteeformedaSteeringCommittee
anddevelopedtheATISDataGapsWorkshopin2000whichidentifiedinformationaccuracy,reliability,
andtimelinessascriticaltoATIS.ThekeyfindingsoftheQualityAdvancedTravelerInformationSystem
(ATIS)Data,arethefollowing[7]:

GuidelinesforqualityATISdataaredesirable
Needforfurtherrefinementinclassifyingtypesofdata,qualityattributesforeachtypeofdata,
andqualitylevelsforeachattribute
GuidelinesforqualitydatagobeyondATIS.

TheSteeringCommitteeidentifiedfivereasonsforpublishingthisdocument:

Raiseawarenessoftheneedfordatacollectionplanning
Increasetheamountoftrafficdatabeingcollected
Increasethequalityoftrafficdatabeingcollected
Increasetherecognitionofthevalueofdata
Encouragesimilareffortsfortrafficmanagement,transitmanagement,andtransitrelatedand
ruraltravelerinformationdatacollection

OneoftheearliesteffortsfordataqualitywasdraftingtheguidelinesforQualityATISdata.The
reportClosingtheDataGap:GuidelinesforQualityAdvancedTravelInformationSystemDataprovided
usefulinsightintotherequiredprocessesfordataquality[7].Toestablishtheseguidelines,two
separateissuesshouldbeconsidered,namely:datacontentanddataaccess.Thedatacontentdefines
thedatatype,coverage,andqualityofthedatacollectedwhilethedataaccessissuecoversavailability
ofdatatoorganizationsforuseincreatingATISproductsandservices.Thereportalsostatesthatthe
mostfrequentlycitedreasonforinsufficientdataqualityisinadequategeographiccoverage.Thedata
qualityissuesweremainlyraisedfromincompletedatacollectioneffortsinmetropolitanareaswith
multiplejurisdictions,particularlywithrespecttotrafficspeeds.Thereportidentifiedinadequate
geographiccoverage,inaccurateinformation,insufficientupdatefrequency,lackofdatatimeliness,and
inadequatespatialresolutionasthemostcommoncomplaints.Thedataguidelinesdefinedfourtypesof
3

realtimetrafficdata:trafficsensordata,incident/eventreports,images,androad/environmental
sensorstationdata.Eachdatatypeconsistsoftheattributesandthedesireddataqualitylevels.Table1
illustratestrafficsensordatatypes,theirattributes,anddataqualitylevels.
Table1.AttributesandQualityLevelsofTrafficSensorData

Attributes
Nature:
Accuracy
Confidence
Delay
Availability
BreadthofCoverage
DepthofCoverage

QualityLevels
LimitedAccessHighwaysAggregatedPointData
PrincipalArterialsAggregatedSectionData
<15%error
Qualitativemeasureofsuspiciousdatacommunicatedalongwiththedata
<5minutes
>95%availability
LimitedAccessHighwaysMajorRoadways
PrincipalArterialsMajorRoadways
LimitedAccessHighwaysBetweenMajorInterchanges
PrincipalArterialsBetweenMajorArterials/LimitedAccessHighways

Theguidelinesalsodevelopedthequalitylevels,good,better,andbesttoassessthedata
attributes.A"good"qualitylevelistheminimumlevelofdatacollectionthatshouldbedesignedfor
eachattributeand"better"and"best"qualitylevelsprovideanimprovedlevelofservice.
ATISdataguidelinesareausefulindicatorthatofferstheopportunitytoenhanceandimprove
theavailableATISdataandapplications.Whiletheguidelinesarelimitedtorealtimeordynamictraffic
relatedinformationtooffertravelerinformationservicesinthenearterm,theguidelinesprovidethe
resourcestobeusedforATISdatacollection.Alsotheguidelinesneedfurtherrefinementinclassifying
typesofdata,qualityattributesforeachtypeofdata,andqualitylevelsforeachattribute.

2.2TrafficDataQualityWorkshopProceedingsandActionPlan(2003)
Thequalityofthetrafficdataandtheinformationarecriticalfactorssincetrafficandtravelcondition
informationaffectsthemanagementoftransportationresourcesandisutilizedbythetravelingpublicin
makingtraveldecisions.In2003,FHWAdesignedtrafficdataqualityworkshopsanddevelopedanaction
plantohelpstakeholderswithtrafficdataqualityissues.Theworkshopsweredesignedtopresentthe
findingsofthreewhitepapersinordertostimulatediscussionandobtaininputfromtheparticipantson
howtoaddresstheconcernsoftrafficdataquality.Thethreewhitepapersareasfollows:

Definingandmeasuringtrafficdataquality
Stateofthepracticefortrafficdataquality
Advancesintrafficdatacollectionandmanagement

Thefollowingsectionssummarizethethreewhitepapersanddiscussanactionplanreportto
improvetrafficdataquality[6,810].

2.2.1DefiningandMeasuringTrafficDataQuality
Thedefinitionofdataqualityisarelativeconceptthatcouldhavedifferentmeaning(s)todifferent
consumers.Evenifdataaregoodenoughforoneuser;thesamedatamightnotbeofacceptablequality
foranotherconsumer.Thusitisimportanttoconsiderandunderstandallintendedusesofdatabefore
attemptingtomeasureorprescribedataqualitylevels.Manyresearchers[1113]defineddataqualityas
fitforusebyaninformationconsumer,fitnessforallpurposesintheenterpriseprocessesthat
requireit,phenomenonoffitnessformypurposethatisthecurseofeveryenterprisewidedata
warehouseprojectandeverydataconversionproject,andconsistentlymeetingknowledgeworker
andendcustomerexpectations.AwhitepaperDefiningandMeasuringTrafficDataQualitywas
preparedforthetrafficdataqualityworkshops[4].Thewhitepaperdefinesthedataqualityasthe
fitnessofdataforallpurposesthatrequireit.Measuringdataqualityrequiresanunderstandingofall
intendedpurposesforthatdata.
Thewhitepaperalsoproposedthefollowingdataqualitycharacteristics:

AccuracyThemeasureordegreeofagreementbetweenadatavalueorsetofvaluesanda
sourceassumedtobecorrect.Itisalsodefinedasaqualitativeassessmentoffreedomfrom
error,withahighassessmentcorrespondingtoasmallerror.
Completeness(alsoreferredtoasavailability)Thedegreetowhichdatavaluesarepresentin
theattributes(e.g.,volumeandspeedareattributesoftraffic)thatrequirethem.Completeness
istypicallydescribedintermsofpercentagesornumberofdatavalues.
ValidityThedegreetowhichdatavaluessatisfyacceptancerequirementsofthevalidation
criteriaorfallwithintherespectivedomainofacceptablevalues.Datavaliditycanbeexpressed
innumerousways.Onecommonwayistoindicatethepercentageofdatavaluesthateither
passorfaildatavaliditychecks.
TimelinessThedegreetowhichdatavaluesorasetofvaluesareprovidedatthetime
requiredorspecified.Timelinesscanbeexpressedinabsoluteorrelativeterms.
CoverageThedegreetowhichdatavaluesinasampleaccuratelyrepresentthewholeofthat
whichistobemeasured.Aswithothermeasures,coveragecanbeexpressedinabsoluteor
relativeunits.
Accessibility(alsoreferredtoasusability)Therelativeeasewithwhichdatacanberetrieved
andmanipulatedbydataconsumerstomeettheirneeds.Accessibilitycanbeexpressedin
qualitativeorquantitativeterms.

Whilethereareseveralotherdataqualitymeasuresthatcouldbeappropriateforspecifictraffic
dataapplications,thesixmeasurespresentedabovearefundamentalmeasuresthatshouldbe
universallyconsideredformeasuringdataqualityintrafficdataapplications.Thewhitepaperalso
recommendedthatgoalsortargetvaluesforthesetrafficdataqualitymeasuresbeestablishedatthe
jurisdictionalorprogramlevelbasedonabetterandmoreclearunderstandingofallintendedusesof
trafficdata.Itisevidentthatdataconsumersneedsandexpectations,aswellasavailableresources,
varysignificantlybytheimplementationprogramandbygeographicarea.Thefactsprecludethe
recommendationofauniversalgoalorstandardforthesetrafficdataqualitymeasures.Finallythe
paperalsorecommendedincludingmetadatainestablishingdataquality.
5

2.2.2StateofthepracticeforTrafficDataQuality
TheWhitePaperStateofthePracticeforTrafficDataQualityexamineswhatoperationsandplanning
applicationsusetrafficdataandwhatarethequalityrequirementsfortheseapplications,thecausesof
poorqualityintrafficdata,qualityissuesspecifictoITSgeneratedtrafficdata,andpossiblesolutionsto
qualityproblems[10].

Thestudyhighlightsthetrafficdatacollectionproceduresbytypesandapplications.Several
typesoftrafficdataarecollectedbybothtraditionalandITSmeans.Whilethebasicnatureand
definitionsofthedatacollectedarethesame,therearesubtledifferencesindatacollection
methodologiesthatmayleadtoproblemswithdatasharingandquality.Forexample,forplanning
purposestrafficvolumeistypicallycollectedcontinuouslyatalimitednumberofsitesstatewide;2448
hourcountscovermosthighwaysegments;dataareusuallyaggregatedtohourlyaveragesforreporting
purposes.However,formanyITSapplicationstrafficvolumesaregatheredcontinuouslyonevery
segment(1/2milespacingistypicalonurbanfreeways);dataoftenarecollectedat2030second
intervalsinthefield;dataareaggregatedandreportedforlateruseanywherefrom2030secondsupto
15minutes.Thepaperexploresvarioustypesofdataandapplicationswiththecomparisonsofcurrent
(ortraditional)dataandITSgenerateddata.

ThecharacteristicsoftrafficdataqualityareexplaineddefiningBaddata.Badorinaccurate
trafficdataarearesultofvariousfactorssuchastypeofequipment,interferencefromenvironmental
conditions,installation,calibration,inadequatemaintenance,communicationfailures,andequipment
breakdowns.Inordertodetectthebaddata,avarietyofmethodsareused,includinginternalrange
checks,crosschecks,timeseriespatterns,comparisontotheory,andhistoricalpatternsareused.Once
thebaddataarefound,imputationappearstobemostapplicablewheresmallintermittentgapsappear
inthedatainsteadofeditingthemeasurementvalues.Varioustechniquesincludingtimeseries
smoothingandhistoricalgrowthrateshavebeenexploredwhilethereislittleconsensusinthe
professiononwhattechniquestobeused,orifimputationshouldbedoneatall.

ThestudyalsopointedoutthedifferencebetweenoperationalandtraditionaluseofITS
generatedtrafficdata.Severaldifferencesareintroducedasthesepoints:volumesvs.speeds,data
qualitycontrolmethods,levelofaccuracy,datacollectionnuances,datamanagement,levelofcoverage,
vehicleclassificationdefinitions,institutionalanddatasharingissues.Finally,samplingofITSlocations
anddatastreams,sharedresources,maintenance,calibration,andperformancestandards,contractual
arrangements,moresophisticatedoperationsapplicationsasadataqualityleader,andnew
technologiesarerecommendedaspossiblesolutionstoimprovetrafficdataqualityinthestudy.
2.2.3AdvancesinTrafficDataCollectionandManagement
ThewhitepaperAdvancesinTrafficDataCollectionandManagementidentifiesinnovativeapproaches
forimprovingdataqualitythroughqualitycontrol.Thestudyrecommendsinnovativecontracting
methods,standards,trainingfordatacollection,datasharingbetweenagenciesandstates,and
advancedtrafficdetectiontechniques[9].Eachmethodologytoimprovedataqualityisdescribedinthis
section.

Thepaperfirstintroducedtheinnovativecontractingmethodsthatcanimprovedataquality.A
fewagenciesaroundthecountryhavealreadyinvestedresourcesindevelopingnewcontracting
methodsasameansofensuringdataquality.ThestudyintroducedtheexamplesofVirginiaandOhioas
casestudiestoshowthepotentialdataqualityimprovementthoughinnovativecontractingmethods
suchasperformancebasedleasecriteriaforpaymentofdatacollectionservicesandataskordertype
contractformaintenance.
Thedevelopmentofstandardsisintroducedasanimportantaspectoftrafficdataquality.While
standardsdevelopmentisstillatanearlystageintheUnitedStates,manyEuropeancountriessuchas
Germany,theNetherlands,andFrancehavedevelopednationalstandardsfordatacollectionequipment.
Allequipmentpurchasedfornationaltrafficdatacollectionutilizethesameformatsandprotocolsfor
communicationpurposes.ThestandardizationinEuropeancountrieshasincreasedthequalityand
accuracyofthedatacollected,decreasedtheeffortneededtotransferdatabetweenagenciesoroffices,
andincreasedthereliabilityoffieldequipment.However,thestandardizationincreasedtheinitialcost
oftheequipmentwhencomparedtononstandardequipment.
Trainingofpersonnelisanessentialpartofensuringdataqualitysincerapidchangesand
improvementsofhardwareandsoftwarerequireconstanttraining.
Datasharingbetweenagenciescanresultincostsavingsandprovidesalternatemeansto
meetingdataqualityneeds.Forexample,thewhitepaperdemonstratedthatthestatesofConnecticut,
Maine,Massachusetts,NewHampshire,RhodeIsland,andVermonthavecooperatedtohelpeachother
andsharetransportationdatasuchasinventory,travelmonitoringdata,andperformancedata.By
workingtogetherformanyyears,thesestateshaveimproveddataqualityinamoreefficientand
cooperativeenvironment.
Finallyadvancedtrafficdetectiontechniquesarediscussedtoensurethatthedatagatheredare
accurate.Thestudydemonstratesthatinductiveloopdetectorscontinuetoeffectivelyservetheirneeds.
Alsomostfailuresoriginatedfromimpropersealing,pavementdeterioration,andforeignmaterialinthe
sawslot,notbecauseoftheloopwireitself.Recentresearcheffortsfoundthatmultilanedetectorsare
mostcompetitivefromacostandaccuracystandpoint.Videoimagingsystemsalsoprovideanimageof
traffic,whichisoftenusefulinspotcheckingtrafficconditions.
2.2.4ActionPlanDevelopmentofTrafficDataQualityWorkshops
Thereportdefinesactionplanstoaddresstrafficdataqualityissues.Theactionplanpresentsa
blueprinttoaddressthetrafficdataqualitybasedonthefindingsinthewhitepapersandinputreceived
fromtheregionalworkshops[8].Thefollowingtenpriorityactionitemswereidentified.
1. Developguidelinesandstandardsforcalculatingtrafficdataqualitymeasures.
2. Synthesizevalidationproceduresandrulesusedbyvariousstatesandotheragenciesfortraffic
monitoringdevices(orcompilationofbusinessrules,datavaliditychecks,andqualitycontrol
procedures).
3. Developbestpracticesforinstallationandmaintenanceoftrafficmonitoringdevices.
4. Establishaclearinghouseforvehicledetectorinformation.
7

5. Conductsensitivityanalysesanddocumenttheresultstoillustratetheimplicationsofdata
qualityonuserapplications.
6. Developguidelinesfordatasharingresourcesfortrafficmonitoringactivities.
7. Developamethodologyforcalculatinglifecyclecosts.
8. Developguidelinesforinnovativecontractingapproachesfortrafficdatacollection.
9. Conductacasestudyorapilottest.
10. Provideguidanceontechnologiesandapplications.
Thetenactionitemswerecategorizedintothreepotentialgroupsofactivitiestoimplementthe
actionplan,namely:researchstudies,workshops,andclearinghousecase.Theresearchstudieswere
relatedto(1)thedevelopmentofguidelinesandstandardsforcalculatingdataqualitymeasures,(2)
compilationofbusinessrules/datavaliditychecksandqualitycontrolprocedures,(3)bestpracticesfor
equipmentinstallationandmaintenance,(5)sensitivitystudiestodemonstratevalueofdata,and(10)
guidanceontechnologiesandapplicationsarerequired.Also,actionitemsthatrequireworkshopsare
(6)guidelinesforsharingresources,(7)lifecyclecostsofdetectionequipment,and(8)improved
contractingapproaches.Finally,actionitemssuchas(4)clearinghouseforvehicledetectorinformation
and(9)casestudyorpilottestsshouldbeimplementedthroughcasestudies.

2.3TrafficDataQualityMeasurement(2004)
InordertoaddressthemostdemandingrecommendationfromtheTrafficDataQualityWorkshops
whichisDevelopingguidelinesandstandardsforcalculatingtrafficdataqualitymeasures,thereport
TrafficDataQualityMeasurementdevelopsmethodsandtoolstoenabletrafficdatacollectorsand
userstodeterminethequalityoftrafficdatathattheyareproviding,sharing,andusing.Specifically,the
reportpresentsaframeworkthatcanprovidemethodologiestodevelopandevaluatethedataquality
measurementfordifferentapplications.Alsothereportprovidesguidelinesfordevelopingand
calculatingtrafficdataquality.

Thedevelopedframeworkisbasedonsixdataqualitymeasures,namely:accuracy,
completeness,validity,timeliness,coverage,andaccessibility.Theframeworkisconstructedasa
sequenceofstepsincalculatingandaccessingthedataquality.Thestructureoftheframeworkisas
follows;

Step1.Knowyourcustomer
Step2.Selectmeasures
Step3.Setacceptabledataqualitytargets
Step4.Calculatedataqualitymeasuresforuniquedata
Step5.Identifydataqualitydeficiencies
Step6.Assignresponsibilityandautomaticreporting
Step7.Completethefeedbackcycle

Casestudieswereintroducedtodemonstratehowthedataqualitymeasureswerecalculated.Table
2showsthetrafficdataqualityscorecardfortheAustin,TXcasestudy.Theresultsindicatethatthe

qualityoftrafficdetectordataintheAustincasereasonablyfitstothedataqualitytargetwhileonly
13%offreewaysectionsarecovered.
Table2.TrafficDataQualityforAustinCaseStudy

DataQualityMeasures
Accuracy
MAPE
RMSE
Completeness
Percent
Complete
Validity
PercentValid
Timeliness
PercentTimely
Data
AverageData
Delay
Coverage
Percent
Coverage
Accessibility
Ave.Access
Time
*

OriginalSourceData
Oneminutespeeds:
12.0%
11mph
Volume:99%
Occupancy:99%
Speed:98%
Volume:99.9%
Occupancy:99.9%
Speed:99%

ArchiveDatabase
Hourlyvolumes:
4.4%
131vehicles
Volume:99%
Occupancy:99%
Speed:99%
Volume:97%
Occupancy:98%
Speed:99%

TravelerInformation
Traveltimes:
8.6%
1.56minutes
Website:100%
Phone:96%

Routetraveltimes:
97%

99.8%
28seconds

90%
3hours

96%
n.a.

Freeways:13%
with0.4mile
spacing
RetrieveAADT
values:12minutes
avg.accesstime

Freeways:13%with
0.4milespacing;
Arterials:0%
Website:20second
avg.accesstime
Phone:60secondavg.
accesstime

Freeways:13%with
0.4milespacing
Archiveadmin.:
8minutes;
ISP:10minutes

MAPE(MeanAbsolutePercentError),RMSE(RootMeanSquaredError)

Theguidelinesincludeacceptabledataqualitytargets,levelofeffortrequiredfortrafficdata
qualityassessment,specificationforusingmetadata,andguidelinesfordatasharingagreements.Data
qualitytargetsaredefinedfordifferentapplicationsusingsixdataqualitymeasuresandpreparedfor
theacceptablequalitybasedonthedatausersneedsandapplications.Table3showstheestimated
dataqualitytargetsforsampleapplications.

Table3.SampleDataQualityRequirement

Accuracy
Completeness

Travelerinformation(Traveltime)
1015%RMSE(Rootmeansq.error)
95100%validdata

Validity

Lessthan10%failurerate

Timeliness
Typical
coverage

Datarequiredclosedtorealtime
100%areacoverage

Accessibility

510minutes

AirQualityConformityAnalysis(VMT)
10%
Atagivenlocation50%twoweeksper
month,24hr
Upto15%failurerate48hourcount,
Upto10%failureratepermanent
stations
Within3yearsofmodelvalidationyear
75%Freeways
25%Arterials
10%Collectors
510minutes

Theguidelinesalsopresentthedatasharingagreementwhichexplainstheroles,expectations,
andresponsibilitiesamongthedataprovidersandusers.Thedatasharingagreementtypicallydoesnot
includethedataqualityspecificationsbetweenthedataprovidersandthedatausers.Thereport
recommendsthefollowingthreestepstoaddthedataqualityprovisionintodatasharingagreements.

Reporting/documentingthequalityofthedata
Specifyingwhatthequalityofthedatamustbe
Structuringpaymentschedulesbasedonamountofdatapassingminimumcriteria

2.4QualityControlProceduresforTrafficDataCollection(2006)
Qualitycontrolprocedureswhichmonitorandidentifydataqualityproblemsareacriticalfactorin
improvingtrafficdataqualityasdefinedintheactionplansofthetrafficdataqualityworkshops.The
reportQualityControlProceduresforArchivedOperationsTrafficData:SynthesisofPracticeand
RecommendationswaspreparedfortheFederalHighwayAdministration.Thereportsummarizesthe
dataqualitycontrolproceduresandprovidesrecommendationsforasetofqualitycontrolprocedures
forsystemspecificdataqualityissues[5].
Threegeneralcategoriesaretypicallyutilizedtoindentifythevalidityoftrafficdata.Thefirst
methodisunivariateandmultivariaterangecheckswhichsetminimum,maximum,orarangeof
expectedvaluesforavariableormultiplevariables.Secondly,spatialandtemporalconsistencychecks
arealsowidelyutilizedtocheckfordatavalidity.Themethodevaluatestheconsistencyoftrafficdataas
comparedtonearbylocations(eitheracrosslanes,orupstreamanddownstreammonitoringlocations)
orprevioustimeperiods.Thethirdmethod,detaileddiagnostic,requiresdetaileddiagnosticdatafrom
trafficdetectorsthatarenottypicallyavailableinarchivedtrafficdata.Thiscriterioncanbeusedin
diagnosingthecause(s)forpoordataqualityatspecificdetectorlocations.

Thestudyalsoreviewedthevaliditychecksoftheninedataarchives:ADMSVirginia,California
PeMS,CATTLab,CentralFloridaDataWarehouse,FHWAMobilityMonitoringProgram,KentuckyADMS,
PhoenixRADS,PORTAL,andWisTransPortalVSPOCandfoundthefollowingproblems:
10

Thevaliditycriteriaaresimilaramongtheninedifferentdataarchives
Thevaliditycriteriaarelesssophisticatedandcomplexthanthosedescribedintheliterature
Nearlyallofthevaliditycriteriaareprogrammedonasimplepass/failbasis
Mostofthevaliditycriteriadonothaveaspecifiedorderorsequence.
Itappearsthatallvaliditycriteriaareappliedevenifpreviouscriteriaindicateinvaliddata

Finally,thereportalsoprovidesthefollowingrecommendationsforqualitycontrolprocedures:

Recognizethatvaliditycriteria(i.e.,qualitycontrol)areonlyonepartofacomprehensivequality
assuranceprocess
Providemetadatatodocumentqualitycontrolproceduresandresults
Providemetadatatodocumenthistoricaltrafficsensorstatusandconfiguration
Usedatabaseflagsorcodestoindicatefailedvaliditycriteria
Ataminimum,implementbasicfoundationfordatavaliditycriteria
FurtherdevelopotherspatialandtemporalconsistencycriteriaforADMS(Archiveddata
managementsystems)
Usevisualreviewtosupplementtheautomatedvaliditycriteria.

2.5SummaryofPreviousEfforts
Theabovereviewoftheliteraturehasshownthesignificanceoftrafficdataqualityandvarious
contributingfactorsthatcanimprovethequalityoftrafficdata.Oneoftheforemostrecommendations
suggestedfromresearchersandworkshopsisthatthereisanurgentneedtodevelopguidelinesfor
trafficdataquality.Whilethepreviousresearchendeavorshaveattemptedtobuildtheseprocedures,
methodologies,andguidelines,theproposedapproachesaretoogeneraltosatisfytherequirementsfor
arealtimeinformationprogram.Thefollowingchapterswillexplorethedataqualitymeasureswith
associatedapplicationsforarealtimeinformationprogram.

11

Chapter3UseofDataQualityMeasuresinExistingSystems
Asmoretrafficdatahavebecomeavailable,theissueofdataqualityhasbecomeagreaterconcern.
Furthermore,theadventofprivateservicesthatprovidesrealtimetrafficinformationmadetheissueof
dataqualitymorecomplicated.Traditionally,thepublicandprivatesectorsgenerallyhavediffering
pointsofviewsandconsequentlydifferingexpectationswithregardtotravelerinformationsystems.
Thepublicsideinstallsandoperatesroadwaysensorsandprovidestrafficinformation,whiletheprivate
sidefocusesonofferingdetailedinformationtotravelers.However,morerecently,thisrelationshiphas
becomemorecomplicatedinstructure.ITStechnologiesareevolvingfastandthecostofinstallation
andoperationhasincreased.Thus,inmanyways,thefastpacedprivatesectorsharesaroleinITS
projectsincludingrealtimetravelerinformationapplications.Inthefollowingsection,theissuesofdata
qualityforbothpublicandprivatesectorswillbecovered.

3.1PublicSectorUse
Muchoftheinterestfromthepublicsectorhasbeentodeliveranacceptableleveloftraveler
information.Publicagenciesincreasinglyrelyupontravelerinformationproductstoconvey
transportationsystemstatustotravelers.Dataqualitythusisseenasanaspectoftheirservicesthat
instillsasenseofpublicconfidence.
TheNationalITSArchitectureprovidesacommonstructureforthedesignandimplementation
ofITSincludingtravelerinformationapplications.TheNationalITSArchitecturedefinesthefunctions,
theinterfacesandinformationflows,andthecommunicationrequirementsfortheflowofinformation.
Inaddition,theNationalITSArchitectureidentifiesandspecifiesrequirementsforstandardsneededto
supportnationalandregionalinteroperabilityandproductstandards.Theformaldefinitionofthe
physicalinterfacesandinformationexchangerequirementsareincludedinthesestandards.The
NationalITSArchitectureplayedakeyroleinestablishingtheinitialdataqualitystandardforITS
applications[14].
511isthenationallyavailabletelephonenumberthatprovidestravelersaccesstotraveler
informationinnearlyeverystateinthecountry.Thetravelerinformationservicebeingprovidedatthe
stateandmetropolitanarealevelsprovidesrealtimetravelerinformationusingtelephoneandinternet
websites.Informationqualityisamajorconcernforeachofthe511deployments.TheImplementation
andOperationalGuidelinesdevelopedbythe511DeploymentCoalitionemployedtheaccuracy,
timeliness,reliability,consistencyofpresentation,andrelevancyofinformationasimportant
parametersforcontentqualityandconsistencyacrosssystems[15,16].Therecommendationofthe511
DeploymentCoalitionforeachattributeisasfollows:
Accuracy
Reportsarerecommendedtocontaininformationthatmatchactualconditions.Ifthesystemreports
constructioneventsthatarenotoccurring(orworse,doesnotreportaconstructioneventthatis
occurring)oraroadclosureisnotreported,callerswillstarttodistrusttheinformationprovided.If
inaccuraciespersist,callerswilldiscontinuetheiruseof511.

12

Timeliness
Closelyrelatedtoaccuracy,informationprovidedby511isrecommendedtobetimelytothegreatest
extentpossibleinaccordancewiththespeedofchangingconditions.Whileitisrecognizedthatnon
urbanareasmayhavemoredifficultycollecting,insertingandupdatinginformationquickly,itis
recommendedthateveryattemptbemadeinbothurbanandnonurbanareastoupdateinformationas
soonasthereisaknowndeviationfromthecurrentroutesegmentorservicereport.Thus,thetimeliest
reportsarebasedonchangingconditionsandnotonregularintervalupdates.
Reliability
Often,transportationmanagementsystemsarestaffedduringnormalworkinghours.Buttravelersuse
highways24hoursaday,7daysaweek.Infact,oftenthemostchallengingtravelconditionsareat
nighttimeandonweekends.Methodsmustbedevelopedtoprovidecallerswithareliablestreamof
information24/7.
ConsistencyofPresentation
Itisrecommendedthatreportsusethesame,orsimilar,terminologytodescribeconditions.Lackof
consistentterminologyleadstomisunderstandingandconfusionamongstcallersandconsistent
terminologywillmakethesystemmoreusableasusersmovefromsystemtosystem.Theuseofexisting
andevolvingstandards,suchastheTMDDandSAEJ2354,formessagesenablesthisconsistency.
Relevancy
Theinformationthatisprovidedneedstoberelevanttothecallergiventheirlocation,modalchoice
and/oractionstheymayneedtotakeasaconsequenceofweatherandroadconditionsorservice
disruptions.
Gooddataqualityisrequiredtoprovidequalityinformationtotravelers.Datasourcesfor511
aregenerallyprovidedfromthestateDOT,thehighwaypatrolandpolicedepartments,transitagencies
andsometimeslocaljurisdictionsandprivatecompanies.Thetrafficdataaregeneratedfromdirect
measurementandestimation.ThereportRoadwayContentQualityon511Servicesprovidedthe
recommendedqualityguidelinefor511asshowninTable4[16].Thereportalsoincluded
recommendationsdevelopedbyCaltransaspartofitsTMSDetectionPlanstatingthatforspeedthe
accuracylevelshouldbewithin+/5mphover30secondintervalswith99%availabilityforspeedand
95%accuracybetweendetectionpointsfortraveltimewith95%availability.
Peirce[17]investigatedtheenduseracceptanceoftravelerinformationusing2003surveydata
thatwerecollectedintheSeattlemetropolitanarea.Thestudyfoundthatonly10%ofthetravelers
utilizetravelerinformationaccessedviatheinternetwebsites,TV,radio,VMSandlessthan1%of
travelersmakeachangeinresponsetotrafficinformation.Thestudyalsopresentedsixfactorsaffecting
thedecisiontousetravelerinformationas:thebroaderregionalcontext,awarenesslevels,trip
characteristics,informationquality,thepresenceofdelays,andtheavailabilityofalternatives.Thestudy
concludedthatimproveddataqualityandsufficientgeographiccoveragecouldincreaseATISusagewith
userdemands.

13

Table4.DataQualityRecommendationsfor511

Applications
TrafficData

Incident/Event
Data

WeatherData

DataQualityGuideline
Datafromgeneralpurposelanesandspecialpurposelanes(e.g.,high
occupancyvehiclelanes)shouldnotbemixed;
Nomorethan15%meanerrorinreporteddata(e.g.,atrue60MPHaverage
speedbeingreportedbetween51and69MPH);
Nomorethanafiveminutedelayindata(e.g.,datacollectedat6:00p.m.
shouldbeavailableonthe511serviceby6:05p.m.);and,
Datashouldbeavailableforagivenroadsegmentatleast90%ofthetime,on
average(e.g.,equipmentandcommunicationsfailuresshouldresultinno
reportbeingavailableforaroadsegmentfornomorethan876hours
throughoutthecourseofayear).
Nomorethan10minutesfromthetimeanincident/eventoccurstowhenitis
availableina511service.
Incident/eventreportsareverifiedinsomefashionpriortobeingincludedin
511messages.
Incident/eventreportinformation(suchaslocation,nature,severity,
duration,etc.)isfullyaccurateinatleast85%ofthereports.
Conditions(fog,dust,snow,etc.):95%accuracyand99%availability.

3.2PrivateSectorUse
Whilemanypublictransportationagenciesprovidetrafficinformationtotravelers,privatesectorsare
alsoinvolvedinthedisseminationoftravelerinformation.Convenientaccessibilityoftraveler
informationattractstravelerstousetrafficinformationservicesfromprivatefirms.Inaddition,various
publicprivatepartnershipsencourageprivatepartnerstoparticipateintravelerinformationsystem
deployment.Themajorrolesoftheprivatesector,asaninformationserviceprovider(ISP),aretocollect
basictravelerinformationfrompublicagencies,supplementitwithadditionalinformation,processand
combineitforpresentationinusefulways,anduseitinthederivationofinformationtoprovideadded
services[14].
Althoughthetechnologyforgeneratingandprovidingsophisticatedtravelerinformation
servicesexists,themarketingoftheseservicesisrelativelynew.Internetmapserviceproviderssuchas
GoogleMaps,YahooMaps,Mapqest.com,andMicrosoftLiveSearchMapsproviderealtimetraffic
conditionswithadditionaltrafficinformation.AlsoprivatedataprovisionservicessuchasINRIXand
Traffic.comarenowbeingusedastheprincipaldatasourceinafewtrafficcontrolsystemsoffering
morecompleteservices.
Forexample,GoogleMapsshowsrealtimetrafficinformationacrossmajorUScities.Google
Mapsillustratesalayerthatcolorstheroadsingreen,yellow,red,orgray.Thecolorsrepresenthowfast
thetrafficismovingasfollows:

Green:morethan50mi/h
14

Yellow:2550mi/h
Red: lessthan25mi/h
Gray: nodataavailable

Thetrafficdatathatareprovidedformajorhighwaysisaggregatedfromseveralsources
includingroadsensorsaswellascarandtaxifleets.GoogleMapsisnottheonlycompanyprovidingreal
timeonlinetrafficdata.YahooMapsandMapquest.comalsoproviderealtimetrafficinformation
servicesandprovidesymbolsdesignatingspecifictrafficincidents.RecentlyMicrosoftreleaseditslatest
softwaretechnologycalledClearFlowthroughLiveMapsinApril2008.ClearFlowwhichwas
developedusinganartificialintelligencealgorithmprovidesrealtimetrafficdatatohelpdriversavoid
trafficcongestionincludingmajorarterials.Clearflowpredictstrafficpatterns,whiletakingintoaccount
trafficcongestion,andthenreflectsthebackupsandtheirconsequentialspilloverontocitystreets[18,
19].
INRIX,aprivatedataserviceprovider,aggregatesandenhancesdatafromhundredsofsources
toprovidecomprehensivetrafficdatainformationincludingrealtimereportingoftrafficflow
informationandimprovedqualitythroughproprietaryerrordetectionandcorrectionofindividualroad
sensors.Inadditiontorealtimetrafficinformation,INRIXprovidesadynamicpredictiveflowservice.
INRIXtrafficspeedpredictionalgorithmsincludesshorttermpredictions(next23hours)usingcurrent
traffic,weatherforecastsandothermetadataimpactingtraffic,mediumandlongrangepredictions
(days,weeksandmonthsahead)usingweatherforecasts,school,constructionandeventschedules,
errordetectionandcorrectionofrealtimeflowdata[20].
Traffic.comalsoprovidescomprehensiverealtimetrafficinformationformajorUSmetropolitan
areasincludingmainarterialtrafficinformation.Inadditiontotrafficconditioninformation,Traffic.com
offersestimatedtraveltimesbasedonrealtimetrafficconditions,incidents,construction,events,and
masstransitinformation.Theserviceincludesanalternatedrivefeaturewhichsuggestsanalternate
routebasedonrealtimetrafficconditionsincludingcurrentestimateddelayinformationwhenthe
majorrouteiscongested.
Whilenumerousprivatecompaniesprovidetrafficinformationviaanumberofmedia,including
theInternet,cellphones,radio,satelliteradio,andtelevision;theaccuracyoftheirinformationhasnot
beensystematicallyverified.Table5illustratesandsummarizesthedataqualityattributesofprivate
sectortrafficinformationservices.

15

Table5.DataQualityforTrafficInformationServicesfromPrivateSectors

DataQualityMeasures
Accuracy

Completeness

Validity

Timeliness

Coverage

Accessibility

TrafficInformation

Nocomparisonwithgroundtruthdata
Accuracylevel:Illustrates3to4levelsofcongestion
condition(good,milddelay,congestion)

Percentcomplete100%

Nocomparisonwithgroundtruthdata
ErrordetectionandcorrectionbyINRIX,howeverhasnot
beendocumented

Percenttimelydata:100%(24hr/7days)
Averagedatadelay:Updatedlessthan5minutes

MajorU.S.cities(HighwaysandArterials*)

Accesstime:Realtime

Limitedserviceavailable

Inmanycasesthealgorithmsusedbytheprivatesectorarenotmadepublic,presumablyto
promotecompetitiveadvantageandbranddifferentiation.Verificationandvalidationoftheinformation
productsinthisenvironmentisextremelylimited.Somemethodneedstobedevisedthatprotectsthe
privatesectorinvestmentindataqualityalgorithmswhilealsoprovidingtheircustomersadequate
assurancethatthedataandinformationproductsareindeedvalid.

16

Chapter4InformationSharingSpecificationsandDataExchange
Formats
FHWApublishedanInterimGuidanceonInformationSharingSpecificationsandDataExchangeFormats
fortheRealTimeSystemManagementInformationPrograminOctober2007[21].Therealtime
informationprogramrecognizedunderSection1201ofSAFTEALUwasintendedtoinstituteastandard
dataformatfortheexchangeoftravelandtrafficrelateddatabetweenStateandlocalgovernment
agenciesandthetravelingpublic.
WhileITSstandardshavebeendevelopedoverthepastdecades,nonstandardizedinterfaces
anddifferentversionsofthestandardshavebeendeployedinvariousITSapplicationssuchastraffic
management,transitmanagement,andemergencymanagementsystemscausingdifficultiesintraffic
dataexchangeamongagencies.Inaddition,trafficinformationwhichisavailabletousefor
transportationoperatorsandthetravelingpublicisnotalwaysaccessibleduetothelackofstandard
interfaces.ThusthestandardizationofdataexchangeformatsiskeytoestablishingtheRealTime
SystemManagementInformationProgram.
Thereareavarietyoftravelerinformationsystemsinoperationtoday.Asystemmaycovera
singlemetropolitanarea,anentirestate,oranevenlargerareasuchasamultistatecorridor.Thetypes
ofinformationandthemodescoveredcanalsovarywidely.Asystemmightusedatafromasingle
transportationentity,ametropolitantransitoperator,multipleagenciesand/orprivateentities.
Dataforuseinatravelerinformationsystemareoftencollectedforotherpurposes.However,
thesedatahaveavaluablesecondusewhentheyareprocessedandpackagedinformsthatcanbeused
toinfluencetravelers'tripmakingdecisions.Currently,bothpublicagenciesandprivateorganizations
areprovidinginformationtotravelersinmanyways.Inaddition,technologicaladvancesareexpanding
travelers'optionsonhowinformationcanbeobtained:telephone,Internet,radio,TV,variablemessage
signs,PDAs,andmore.Thefollowingsectionsidentifythedataqualityspecificationsforasamplereal
timetravelerinformationprogram.

4.1SampleApplicationsforDataQualityMeasures
SixprimaryinterfacesandtheirassociatedapplicationsweredefinedintheInterimGuidanceon
InformationSharingSpecificationsandDataExchangeFormats.Thesehighlevelspecificationswere
mappedfromtheATIS01BroadcastTravelInformationMarketPackageintheNationalITSArchitecture.
Table6summarizesthesixprimaryinterfacesandtheassociatedapplications.Theseapplicationsare
describedinmoredetailinthefollowingsections.

17

Table6.TheSixPrimaryInterfacesandAssociatedApplications

PrimaryInterface
Traffic
Management
Information

Maintenanceand
Construction
Management
Transit
Management
Information

Information
ServiceProvider
Information

Parking
Information

Emergency
Management
Information

ApplicationAreas
Roadnetworkconditions
Roadweatherinformation
Trafficinformationcoordination
Roadnetworkprobeinformation
Trafficincidents
AirQualitydata
Maintenanceandconstructionworkplans
Roadwaymaintenancestatus
Workzoneinformation
Emergencytransitscheduleinformation
Roadnetworkprobeinformation
Transitandfareschedules
Transitincidentinformation
Transitsystemdata
Broadcastinformation
Roadnetworkprobeinformation
Travelerinformation
EmergencyTravelerInformation
Parkinglocations
Parkingavailability
Evacuationinformation
Disasterinformation

SampleITSApplications
511,VMS,traffic.comtraffic
report,weatherwarningsystem,
VMS

511,traffic.comroadworkreport,
VMS

511,WebsiteInformationfrom
TransitOperators

511

Advanceparkingmanagement
system,ITStruckparkingservice
511,VMS,HAR

4.2ITSApplicationsusingRealTimeInformation
511
511isanationallyavailabletravelerinformationservicethatprovidespretripandenroutetraveler
information.511programsprovideinformationthroughcellphone,aninternetwebsite,TVandradio
programs,travelerinformationkiosks,invehicledevices,radios,and/orotherwirelessdevicesatlocal,
metro,andstatewidelevels.Typical511servicesinvolvecurrenttravelinformationsuchastraffic
delay/congestion,traveltime,weather,roadwork,incident,transit,and/oreventinformationallowing
travelerstomakebetterchoiceschoiceoftime,choiceofmodeoftransportation,andchoiceofroute
oftravel.
Thesampledataneedsinclude:

Delay/congestioninformation:traveltimeandspeed
Traveltimeinformation:traveltimeandspeed
Weatherinformation:airtemperature,visibility,andprecipitation
Roadwork/constructioninformation:laneclosure,duration,andlocation
18

IncidentInformation:laneclosureandestimatedclearancetime
TransitInformation:servicedisruptionandserviceadherence

Traffic.com
Traffic.comisanindependentprivateprovideroftrafficinformationandservicesinmajorU.S.cities.
Traffic.comprovidesrealtimetrafficconditions,traveltime,incident,construction,event,andmass
transitinformationviaanumberofmedia,includingtheInternet,cellphones,radio,satelliteradio,and
television.Thecompanyutilizesfourtypesoftrafficdatasources:digitaltrafficsensors,GPS/probe
devices,commercialandgovernmentpartners,andtrafficoperationscenterstaffmembersincluding
theirownnetworkofsensorstodisseminaterealtimetravelerinformation.Inaddition,Traffic.comuses
avarietyofmeanssuchaspoliceandfirescannersandmonitoringtrafficcamerastocollectinformation
andcombinesthesetoprovidetravelerswithtrafficinformation.
DataNeeds:

Delay/congestioninformation:traveltimeandspeed
Traveltimeinformation:traveltimeandspeed
Weatherinformation:airtemperature,visibility,andprecipitation
Roadwork/constructioninformation:laneclosure,duration,andlocation
IncidentInformation:laneclosureandestimatedclearancetime
TransitInformation:servicedisruptionandserviceadherence

RealTimeWeatherInformationSystem
Moreaccurateandaccessibleweatherinformationcouldimproveroadmaintenanceanddecreasefatal
crashes.TherealtimeweatherandroadinformationiscollectedfromDopplerweatherradar,the
nationallighteningdetectionnetwork,aroadsensornetwork,theagriculturalweathernetwork,
satellitedata,andreportsfromstatehighwaypersonnelandstatepatrolofficers.Windspeedand
direction,cloudthickness,precipitation,airtemperature,dewpointandhumidity,andradardepiction
are/orprovidedforweatherinformationandoverallroadconditions,pavementtemperature,pavement
condition(dry,wet,icy),roaddewpoint,roadfreezepoint,and/orroadsnowdepthareprovided.In
additiontotheseparameters,someagenciesprovidehighresolutionroadimagesand/orvideoimages
tohelptheusertoinformthedrivingpublicofrealtimeroadwayconditions.ManyRWISsystemsare
builtupwithvarioustypesofamapbasedsystemthatallowstheusertoselectweatherandpavement
conditionparametersforaspecificareawithinanentirecoveragearea.Therealtimeinformationis
typicallyupdatedeverya30to60minutes.
DataNeeds:

Weatherinformation:windspeedanddirection,cloudthickness,precipitationtypeand
intensity,airtemperature,dewpointandhumidity,andradardepiction
Roadinformation:overallroadwaycondition,visibilityorvisibledistance,pavement
temperature,pavementcondition(dry,wet,icy),roaddewpoint,roadfreezepoint,and/or
roadsnowdepth
19

AdvancedParkingManagementSystems
Realtimeparkinginformationenhancesmobilitybyavoidingparkingproblemsandtrafficcongestion.
Thesearchforparkingoftenkeepsvehiclesontheroadneedlesslyandmaycauselengthyqueuesthat
blockadjacentstreets.Slowingandstoppedvehiclesintravellanesmaycreatesafetyhazards.Advanced
parkingsystemscansavetotaltraveltime,improvesafety,shiftdemandtoothermodes/destinations,
andreducetravelerfrustrationandanxiety.
Therearethreemajorareaswhereparkinginformationisgenerallyinhighdemanddowntown
areas,airports/terminals,andparkandridelots.Realtimeenrouteparkinginformationsystems
provideinformationintheformofrealtimeparkingavailability,parkinglocations,andshuttle/transit
service.WhileparkinginformationcanbeprovidedthroughtheInternetbeforeapersonembarksona
trip,amorecommonmethodofdisseminationisthroughdynamicmessagesignsthatallowtravelersto
makeadecisionenroute.Entry/exitcountersandspaceoccupancydetectorsarethemostfrequently
utilizedmethodtochecktherealtimeparkingavailability[23].
DataNeeds:

Parkinglotavailability:entry/exitcountersandspaceoccupancydetectors
Parkinglotlocation:parkinglotavailability,parkinglotlocationinformation,andtransit/shuttle
service

IncidentManagementSystems
Incidentmanagementsystemscanreducetheeffectsofincidentrelatedcongestionbydecreasingthe
timetodetectincidents,thetimeforrespondingvehiclestoarrive,andthetimerequiredfortrafficto
returntonormalconditions.Avarietyofsurveillanceanddetectiontechnologiesincludinginductive
looporacousticroadwaydetectorsandcamerasystemsprovidingfrequentstillimages/fullmotion
videocanhelpdetectincidentsquickly.RealtimeInformationdisseminationsystemshelptravelers
safelynavigatearoundincidentsontheroadway.Whilemost511systemsincludearealtimeincident
informationsystem,mosttrafficmanagementcentersalsosharerealtimeincidentinformationwith
travelersthroughtechnologiesdeployedaspartofincidentmanagementprograms,suchasdynamic
messagesigns,highwayadvisoryradioaswellasinternetwebsites.
DataNeeds:

IncidentInformation:laneclosure,estimatedclearancetime,anddetourinformation

4.3DataQualityMeasures
Realtimetravelinformationapplicationsrequirevarioustrafficrelatedparameters.Forinstance,traffic
incidentapplicationsinvolvethelocationofincidents,estimatedclearancetime,speed,traveltime,and
otherparameters.Alsotransitserviceinformationincludesroutes,schedules,scheduleadherence,and
fareinformationaswellastransitserviceinformationduringemergencyevacuation.Eachapplication
requiresauniquesetoftrafficrelatedparameters,differentlevelsofdataflows,anddatabase
management.Thissectioninvestigatesthedataqualitymeasuresofthreeofthemostwidelyutilized
trafficrelatedparameters,traveltime,speed,andweatherinformation.
20

4.3.1TravelTime
Thetraveltimedatacollectionhandbook(1998)definestraveltimeasthetimerequiredtotraversea
routebetweenanytwopointsofinterest.AccuratelyestimatingtraveltimeorTravelTimeEstimation
(TTE)isacriticalcomponentofatravelerinformationsystem.Travelerinformationusersmayaltertheir
routeoftravel,changetheirmode,orcanceltheirtripbasedontheinformationprovidedtothem.
However,thereisnoperfectlyaccurateATIStraveltimeestimatethatcomputesthedurationofanytrip
optionconsideringdifferentdeparturetimes.Furthermore,itisnotpossibletoestimateperfectly
accuratetraveltimesgiventhatsomeformofpredictionisrequired[24].
Traveltimeistypicallyestimatedusingvariousmathematicalmodelsusingtrafficdatacollected
fromavarietyoftechnologies.TTEisacrosssubjectthatneedsvariousadvancedtechnologiesin
computeraidedengineering,electronicengineering,automaticcontrolengineering,and
telecommunicationengineering,allofwhichareappliedindatacollection,informationtransmission,
andsignalprocessing.ThemajortechnologiescurrentlybeingusedinTTEincludeloopdetectors,probe
vehicletechnologies,licenseplatematching,testvehicletechnologies,GPS,AutomatedVehicleLocation
(AVL)usingtranspondersortolltags,cellphonesasprobes,andaerialsurveys.
Accuracy
Theaccuracyoftraveltimedependsonthedatacollectionandanalysismethods.Althougheachdata
collectionmethod/technologyhassomespecificadvantages,eachalsohassomeparticular
shortcomings,causingthedeviceortechnologytoworkimproperlyundercertaincircumstances.For
example,loopdetectorshavetroublemeasuringlowspeedvehiclesandonlyprovidepointtimemean
speedstoestimatelinktraveltimes.Probevehicletechnologycannotprovidearoundtheclocktraffic
datacollection.Licenseplatematchingistimeconsumingandneedslargehandlingeffortsthatstill
cannotavoiderrors.Testvehicletechnologyrequiresmassivelaborefforts,withslowdataprocessing.
Furthermore,althougheverytraveltimeestimationmethodhasitsownadvantage,noneofthe
methodscanprovideconsistentlysatisfyingoutcomesondifferentcommoncases.Currently,thereisno
unanimouslysatisfyingmethodologythatcanestimatetraveltimewithcertainaccuracythatcouldbe
usedintravelerinformationandtransportationmanagementapplications.Thereforeamethods
applicationaccuracywillbequestioneduntilithasyieldedconsistentlyfromvariousapplications.The
accuracyofdatacollectionmethodsisalsoakeyaspectthathasbeendiscussedbymanyresearchersas
partofrealtimetraveltimeestimationalgorithms[2528].Forexample,thedataderivedfrom
inductanceloopdetectorsaretypicallyscreenedinordertoenhancethequalityofthedatausedin
transportationapplications.Themostcommonlyusedapproachistodetermineminimumand
maximumacceptablevaluesofvolume,speed,and/oroccupancy.Anydataoutsidetheserangesare
regardedasinvalid.Forexample,Coifman[29]introducedamethodthatidentifiesdetectorerrorsusing
dualloopspeedtrapdataatboththeupstreamanddownstreamdetectorsinthesamelane.Hablas[27]
attemptedtoinvestigatetheimpactofdetectorfailurefrequencyandfailuredurationontheaccuracy
ofloopdetectorspeed,flow,anddensitymeasurementsusingaMonteCarlosimulationapproachand
developedregressionmodelstorelateloopdetectoraccuracytodetectorfailuredata.

21

Cheevarunothai[26]presentedanalgorithmanditsimplementationforidentifyingand
correctingloopsensitivityproblems.Loopsensitivityleveldiscrepanciesbetweentwosingleloops
formingadualloopdetectorandunsuitablesensitivitylevelsofthesingleloopsaretwomajorcausesof
qualitydegradationindualloopdata.Theproposedalgorithmidentifiesdualloopsensitivityproblems
usingindividualvehicledataextractedfromloopeventdataandcorrectsdualloopsensitivitiesto
enhancethereliabilityofdualloopdetectorsandimprovesthequalityoftrafficspeedandbinvolume
data.Hellinga[30]examinedtheissueoftheaccuracyofmeantraveltimesasestimatedfromprobe
vehicles.Thestudyconcludedthatthereliabilityofprobebasedaveragelinktraveltimesishighly
affectedbysamplingbias.
Whiletheaccuracyofthetraveltimeinformationisheavilydependentonthedatacollection
techniqueandtraveltimeestimationmethods,Toppen[24]recommendedtherangeof1321%travel
timeerrorisacceptableforATISapplicationsusingexampleapplicationsinLosAngeles.Theauthor
concludedthatanaccuracydropbelowacriticalpointdeemsrelyingonexperiencemoreefficient.Also
atthehighestlevelsofaccuracy,littleisgainedbymakingfurtherimprovementsandiftheaccuracy
errorisbelow5%,itmakeslittlesensetoinvestinimprovedaccuracy.
Meanwhile,arecentstudy[31]alsorecommendedthattheacceptableaccuracyrangeoftravel
timeisbetween10and20percentfortravelinformationapplications.Thestudyalsofoundthatifthe
errorexceeds20percent,thepublicloseconfidenceintheinformationsource,underminingthesupport
andusefulnessofthesystem.Inaddition,theapplicationdoesnotnecessarilybenefitfromanincreased
accuracybelowthespecifiedrange.Thestudyalsointroduceddifferenterrorrangesfordifferent
applications.Forexample,trafficengineeringandtrafficmanagementapplicationsrequireserrors
between5and10percenttotraveltimesystems,whiletransportationplanningapplications,including
anytypeofplanningorlongrangemonitoringactivity,requirea5to15percenterrorrangefortravel
timedata.
ThereportTrafficDataQualityMeasurementproposedthattheaccuracyoftraveltimesfor
travelerinformationsystemsbemaintainedwithina10to15percenterrorrange[2].Inaddition,the
reportdevelopedmethodsandtoolstoenabletrafficdatacollectorsanduserstodeterminethequality
oftrafficdata.Whilevariousstudiesrecommenda5to21percenterrorrangeoftraveltimeforreal
timetravelerinformationapplications,therangeof10to17percenttraveltimeerrorwouldbea
reasonabletargetfortravelerinformationapplications.
Coverage
Fujito[32]investigatedtheimpactofsensorspacingalongfreewaycorridorsonthecomputationof
performancemeasuresusingatraveltimeindex.Thestudyevaluatedtheeffectivenessofloopdetector
spacingof0.3,0.6,1.0,2.0,3.0,and4.0milesusingdatafromAtlantaand0.5,1.0,2.0,and3.0mile
spacingusingdatafromCincinnati.Thestudyfoundthatincreasingthesensorspacingledtooveror
underestimatingthetraveltimeindexrelativetothebaselineconditionwhilenoevidencewasfound
thatthetraveltimeindexmeasurebecameworseasthesensorspacingincreased.However,the
resultsappeartosuggestthatmoresensorsarenotnecessarilybetter,dependingontheusageofthe
data.Itdoesappearthat,asageneralrule,detectorspacingofupto1.0mishouldprovideareasonable
22

estimateofperformancemeasuresfortrackingcongestion.Theactualspacingbetweentwoadjacent
detectorsmaybenarrowerorwider,dependingonthelocalhighwaygeometry(e.g.,interchange
locations).Thestudyalsoshowedthattheactuallocationofthesensorsisimportantinestimatingthe
traveltimeindexforacorridor.Thusstrategicallylocatedsensorscouldsignificantlyimprovethe
performancemeasuresoftrafficcollectionsystems.
ThereportTrafficDataQualityMeasurementestimated100%areacoverageisrecommended
forthecoveragemeasures.Thecoverageincludeshighwaysectionsandmajorarterials.
Validity
TransGuideisanATISapplicationwhichwasdesignedbytheSanAntonioDistrictoftheTexas
DepartmentofTransportation(TxDOT).TransGuideprovidesthetravelingpublicwithrealtimetraveler
informationontrafficconditions,traveltimes,accidents,andconstruction.Turner[33]investigatedthe
dataqualityanalyzingloopdetectordatafromtheTransGuidesysteminSanAntonio.Thestudyutilized
threeattributesofdataqualitythatarerelevanttoITSdataarchiving:suspectorerroneousdata,
missingdata,anddataaccuracy.ThestudyfoundthatintheanalysisofTransGuidedata,missingdata
accountedforabout25percentofalldatarecords.Errordetectionrulesweredevelopedtoscreenfor
suspectorerroneousdata.ItwasconcludedthatdataqualityproceduresareessentialforITSdata
applications.
Hablas[27]investigatedtherelationshipsbetweenthefailuresofloopdetectorandtheaccuracy
ofloopdetectormeasurementsusingaMonteCarlosimulationapproach.Theresearchconcludedthat
theerrorsofperformancemeasuressuchasdensity,flow,andspacemeanspeedincreaseasthe
frequencyanddurationoffailuresincrease.Thestudyalsodevelopedregressionmodelsthatpredictthe
accuracyofloopdetectormeasurementsusinginputparameterssuchasthefailurefrequency,the
failureduration,andthetrafficstreamdensity.ThereportTrafficDataQualityMeasurementprojected
thatlessthan10%ofthedetectorfailurerateisacceptableforrealtimetraveltimeinformation.
Timeliness,Completeness,andAccessibility
ThereportTrafficDataQualityMeasurementproposedthatforthetimelinessmeasurethedatais
requiredclosetorealtime.AlsoTarnoff[34]suggesteddelayshouldbelessthan1minuteforlocal
implementationandlessthan5minutesfornationalimplementationforthetimelinessmeasure.The
reportsalsosuggestedthat95to100percentcoveragewasrequiredforrealtimetraveltime
information.
Fortheaccessibilitymeasure,therealtimetravelinformationapplicationcanbeadequately
servicedwithaccesstimesinthe5to10minuterangewhilepredictivetrafficflowmethodsshould
accesstheinformationwithin30seconds.However,thetrafficinformationfromsomeprivateservice
providersshowsawarningsignifthetrafficinformationismorethan5minutesold.Alsosensor
networkstypicallyupdaterealtimespeedandvolumeinformationeveryfewminutes.
4.3.2Speed
Trafficstreamspeedsaretypicallymeasuredinthefieldusingavarietyofspotspeedmeasurement
technologies.Themostcommonofthesespotspeedmeasurementtechnologiesisapresencetypeloop
23

detector,whichidentifiesthepresenceandpassageofvehiclesoverashortsegmentofroadway
(typically5to20meterslong).Whenavehicleentersthedetectionzone,thesensorisactivatedand
remainsactivateduntilthevehicleleavesthedetectionzone.
Theaveragetrafficstreamspeedcanbecomputedintwodifferentways:atimemeanspeed
andaspacemeanspeed.Thedifferenceinspeedcomputationsisattributedtothefactthatthespace
meanspeedreflectstheaveragespeedoveraspatialsectionofroadwayandthusisweightedbythe
trafficstreamdensity,whilethetimemeanspeedreflectstheaveragespeedofthetrafficstream
passingaspecificstationarypoint.Inotherwords,timemeanspeedisthearithmeticmeanofthe
speedsofvehiclespassingapointonahighwayduringanintervaloftime.Alternatively,thespacemean
speedistheharmonicmeanofthespeedsofvehiclespassingapointonahighwayduringanintervalof
time.
Specifically,Daganzo[35]demonstratesthatthespacemeanspeedisadensityweighted
averagespeed,whilethetimemeanspeedisaflowweightedaveragespeed.Thespacemeanspeed
reflectsthespatialdimensionofspeedandthusisutilizedinthestandardspeedflowdensity
relationships.
Accuracy
Thetraditionalpracticeforestimatingspeedsusingsingleloopdetectorsisbasedontheassumptionof
aconstantaverageeffectivevehiclelength.Studies,however,haveshownthatthisassumptionprovides
speedestimatesthataresufficientlyinaccurateastoseverelylimittheusefulnessofthesespeed
estimatesforrealtimetrafficmanagementandtravelerinformationsystems[36].Inaddressingthese
issuesresearchershaveinvestigatedtheuseoffilteringtechniques.Forexample,Dailey[37]developeda
KalmanfilteronvehiclelengthestimateswhileHellinga[36]usedexponentiallysmoothedadjacentdual
loopdetectorvehiclelengthmeasurementstoenhancethespeedestimatesofsingleloopdetectors.
Hellingademonstratedthattheexponentialsmoothingof20saveragevehiclelengthmeasurements
fromadjacentdualloopdetectorsenhancedtheaccuracyofthespeedestimatesbyapproximately20
percent.WangandNihan[38]usedscreeningprocedurestoremoveintervalswithlongvehiclesand
spacemeanspeedestimateswerederivedfromtheintervalswithpassengercarsonly.Alternatively,
researchershaveinvestigatedtheuseofmedianasopposedtomeanstatisticsinordertoenhancethe
robustnessofthestatisticsbyensuringthatthemeasuresarenotinfluencedbyoutlierobservations.For
example,Lin[39]usedthemedianvehiclepassagetimeasopposedtothemeanpassagetimeto
estimatespeedsfromsingleloopdetectors.Similarly,Coifman[40]computedthemedianspeedfrom
themedianoccupancyinordertoreducespeedestimateerrorswhenawiderangeofvehiclelengths
arepresentinthetrafficstream.
Whilethespeedestimationisakeyaspectoftheaccuracyofspeedinformationforrealtime
travelerinformation,studieshaverecommendedthespeedaccuracyrequirementsforavarietyof
applications.Tarnoff[34]proposedthatfortravelerinformationapplications20%orlesserrorrangeis
adequateforbothlocalandnationallevelimplementationswhilethestudyrecommendeda510%
errorrangefortrafficmanagementapplications.Arecentstudy[31]recommendedthefollowing
thresholdsforspeedaccuracy:
24

 15%,fortrafficengineeringapplications
210%,fortransportationplanningapplications
510%,fortrafficmanagementapplications,and
520%,fortravelerinformationapplications.
Inaddition,Table7[2]summarizestheacceptablespeederrorsforvariousapplications.
Table7.SpeedAccuracyRequirementforTransportationApplications

Applications
FreeFlowLinkSpeedsforPlanningApplications
CongestedLinkSpeedsforPlanningApplications
TransitVehicleSpeedsforPlanningApplications
FreeFlowLinkSpeedsforTrafficSimulationApplications
CongestedLinkSpeedsforTrafficSimulationApplications
CorridorlevelVehicleSpeedsforCongestionManagement
Applications

RecommendedAccuracyLevels
1520%
AtV/C<1,10mph
AtV/C>=1,2.5mph
1520%
5.0%
2.5%
5.0%

Completeness,Validity,Timeliness,Coverage,andAccessibility
Theattributesofspeeddataishighlycorrelatedwiththetraveltime.Thus,similartotherealtime
travelerinformationapplications,therealtimespeedinformationapplicationsrequiremorethan90%
validdata,alessthan10%failurerate,realtimedata,100%areacoverage,and510minuteaccesstime.
Additionally,thereportTrafficDataQualityMeasurementproposedacceptablelevelsofdata
qualityforvariousapplications,assummarizedinTable8[2].Thetabledemonstratesthatmostspeed
applicationsrequirea90100%validitycheckand100%coverageofthestudyareaexcludingtransit
vehiclespeedapplications,whichrequiremorethan95%completenessand1015%failurerates.Also
thetimelinessofeachapplicationvariesfrom6monthstothreeyears.

25

Table8.DataQualityRequirementforTransportationApplications

Applications
FreeFlowand
CongestedLink
Speedsfor
Planning
Applications
TransitVehicle
Speedsfor
Planning
Applications

FreeFlowLink
Speedsfor
Traffic
Simulation
Applications
CongestedLink
Speedsfor
Traffic
Simulation
Applications
Corridorlevel
VehicleSpeeds
forCongestion
Management
Applications

Completeness
90100%validity
forinstrumented
floatingcardata
collection

Validity
90100%validity
forinstrumented
floatingcardata
collection

Timeliness
Withinthreeyears
ofmodelvalidation
year

Coverage
100%freeway
100%majorarterial
80100%collectors
10%localroad

Lessthan5%one
peakandoneoff
peakroute

Withinthreeyears 100%ofstudyarea
ofmodelvalidation
year

90100%validity
forinstrumented
floatingcardata
collection

Upto15%failure
ratefor48hours
counts
Upto10%failure
rateforpermanent
counts
90100%validity
forinstrumented
floatingcardata
collection

Withinoneyearof
study

100%ofstudyarea

90100%validity
forinstrumented
floatingcardata
collection

90100%validity
forinstrumented
floatingcardata
collection

Withinoneyearof
study

100%ofstudyarea

90100%validity
forinstrumented
floatingcardata
collection

90100%validity
forinstrumented
floatingcardata
collection

Withinsixmonth
yearofstudy

100%ofstudyarea

4.3.3WeatherData
Lowvisibility,precipitation,highwinds,andextremetemperaturecanaffectdrivercapabilities,sight
distances,vehicleperformance,andinfrastructurecharacteristics.ITSapplicationsallowtraffic
managerstodisseminateadvisoryandregulatorytravelerinformationtomotorists.Thesesystemsalso
facilitatesharingofroadweatherdataamongmanagersinmultipleagenciesandneighboring
jurisdictions.Toimprovetrafficoperationsunderadverseenvironmentalconditions,traveler
informationmaybefurnishedthroughroadsidewarningsystems,webbasedapplications,interactive
telephonesystemssuchas511,androadwayweatherinformationwebsites.Thegoalsofthesystems
aretoprovidedecisionsupportinformationtotravelersinamannerthatmayenhanceefficiencyand
safety.Onekeyfeatureinthisdecisionsupportinformationistoimproveaccesstorealtimeand
forecastedweatherconditions[41,42].
511typicallyprovidesinformationoncurrentandchangingtravelconditionsandforecastsfor
upcomingweathereventsthatarelikelytoimpacttheabilitytotravel.Weatherinformationfor511on
asegmentbysegmentbasisneedstobefocusedonthetravelimpactofweatherconditions.Segments
26

needtobedefinedatalogicallengthtoreflectthepossibleweatherconditionsandvariationin
conditionsalongsegments.511weatherserviceoffersthefollowingweatherrelatedinformationfora
segmentorlocationdependingonthesystemlocation:temperature,windspeedanddirection,
precipitationrate,skycondition,visibilityinmilesandeighthsofamileoncevisibilityisbelowamile,
accumulation(forsnowevents),airquality,andpavementtemperatureandcondition(dry,wet,icy)[43].
ManystateDOTsalsoprovidetextualandgraphicalroadweatherinformationontheinternet
[44].ThemostadvancedistheWashingtonStateDOTtrafficandweatherinformationwebsitethat
collectsdatafromavarietyofsources,anddisplayscurrentandforecastedpavementandweather
conditionsonacolorcodedstatewidemap.TheDOTaccessesrealtimedatafrommeteorological
observingnetworks,aCCTVsurveillancesystem,mountainpassreports,andvarioussatelliteandradar
images.Alsointeractivevoiceresponsetechnologytoprovideroutespecificroadconditionreportsand
sixhourweatherforecaststodriversonhighwaysisutilizedasWeatherInformationSystemsinmany
otherstates[41].Thedataqualitymeasuresofweatherinformationaredescribedinthefollowing
sections[43,44].
Accuracy
WeatherInformationshouldcontaininformationthatmatchesactualconditions.Hourlycomparison
betweenFAAandNationalWeatherServiceweathersensorobservationsandroadweathersensor
observationsinclosegeographicalproximityshouldbeconsidered.
Theaccuracyofweatherinformationisalsodependentondatacollectiontechnologiessuchas
weathersensors.Visibilityisbasedonlightscattering.Thevisibilitysensorprojectsabeamoflightover
averyshortdistance,andthelightthatisscatteredisdetectedbyareceiver.Theamountoflight
scatteredandthenreceivedbythesensorisconvertedintoavisibilityvalue.Aoneminuteaverage
visibilityiscalculatedandthevalueisstoredforthenext10minutes.Aharmonicmeanisusedrather
thananarithmeticmeanbecauseitismoreresponsivetorapidlydecreasingvisibilityconditions.The
locationofthevisibilitysensoriscritical.Thesensorshouldbelocatedintheareaofmostconcern.For
aircraftnavigation,mostprimaryvisibilitysensorsareplacednearthetouchdownzoneoftheprimary
instrumentedrunway.Thesensormustbelocatedatleast10feetabovegroundlevel.Visibilityis
reportedinquartermileincrementsuptotwomiles,thenat2.5miles,thenateverymiletoamaximum
of10miles.Visibilitiesgreaterthan10milesarestillreportedas10miles.Valueslessthanaquarter
milearereportedasaquartermile[27].
ThePrecipitationIdentifier(PI)sensordistinguishesbetweenrain(RA)andsnow(SN)whilethe
FreezingRain(FZRA)sensordetectsfreezingrain.TheFreezingRainsensormeasuresaccumulationrates
aslowas0.01inchesperhour.ThePIsensorreportsdataeveryminuteasa10minuemovingaverage
andstoresthedatainmemoryfor12hours.Ifmorethanthreedataitemsaremissing,thealgorithm
reportsmissing,ifanequalnumberofdifferentprecipitationtypesarereportedinthelast10minutes
theheavierisreported.Afterthedeterminationoftheprecipitationtypethealgorithmcalculatesthe
intensity(lightmoderateheavy)anditisdeterminedfromthehighestcommonintensityderivedfrom
threeormoresamplesofdata[27].

27

Completeness
100%ofweatherdata(24hr/7days)shouldbepreparedtoprovideareliablestreamofinformationto
travelers.
Timeliness
Weatherinformationisrecommendedtobetimelytothegreatestextentpossibleinaccordancetothe
speedoftheweatherchangeanticipated.Inmanyrapidlyevolvingsituationsthiscanimplyanhourly
updatewithchangenoticesofweathervariationsathourlyintervals.Whileitisrecognizedthatnon
urbanareaswillhavemoredifficultycollecting,insertingandupdatinginformationquickly,itis
recommendedthateveryattemptbemadeinbothurbanandnonurbanareastoupdateinformationas
soonasthereisaknowndeviationfromthecurrentroutesegmentreport.
Coverage
100%offunctionalweather/roadwaysensorsofstudyareashouldbecovered.
Otherattributes
Itisalsorecommendedthatweatherreportsusethesame,orsimilar,terminologytodescribe
conditions.Lackofconsistentterminologyleadstomisunderstandingandconfusionandconsistent
terminologywillmakethesystemmoreusableasusersmovefromonesystemtoanother.
4.3.4SummaryofDataQualityMeasures
Theprevioussectionsdescribeddataqualitymeasuresforsampleparametersincluding:traveltime,
speed,andweatherinformation.Table9presentsasummaryofrecommendeddataqualitymeasures
foreachofthesampleparameters.

28

Table9.RecommendedDataQualityMeasuresforRealtimeTravelInformationApplications

Accuracy

Completeness
Validity

Timeliness

Coverage
Accessibility

TravelTime
1017%errorrangefor
datacollectionandtravel
timeestimation
95100%temporal
coverage
90100%validityfor
sensororinstrumented
cardatacollection
Lessthan1minutefor
localimplementationand
lessthan5minutesfor
nationalimplementation
Sensorspacingof1mile
and100%areacoverage
Lessthan5minutesand
warningsystemiftraffic
informationismorethan5
minutesold

Speed
520%errorrangefor
speedmeasurementor
estimation
95100%temporal
coverage
90100%validityfor
sensororinstrumented
cardatacollection
Realtime

Anhourlyupdate

100%areacoverage

100%areacoverage

90100%validityfor
sensor

510minutes
Lessthan5minutesand
warningsystemiftraffic
informationismorethan5
minutesold

29

WeatherInformation
Recommendedtocontain
informationthatmatches
actualconditions
100%(24hr/7days)

Chapter5ProposedRuleforRealTimeInformationProgram
OnMay4,2006,theFHWApublishedanoticeintheFederalRegister(71FR26399)outliningsome
proposedpreliminaryprogramparametersandseekingpubliccommentsontheproposeddescriptionof
theRealtimeSystemManagementInformationProgram,includingitsoutcomegoals,definitionsfor
variousprogramparameters,andthecurrentstatusofrelatedactivitiesintheStates.Presentedinthis
chapterissomeofthematerialcontainedinthenoticealongwithasummaryoftheresponsesreceived
andthecurrentdirectiontheFHWAisheadingwithregardstoimplementingtherequirements
establishedinSection1201oftheSAFETEALU.

5.1May2006RequestforComments
ThematerialpresentedinthissectionprovidesthemajorpointsthatwerecontainedintheMay2006
RequestforCommentsandtheFHWAsproposedapproachforimplementingtherequirementsforthe
RealtimeSystemManagementInformationProgram.
5.1.1ProgramPurpose
ThepurposeoftheRealtimeSystemManagementInformationProgramistoprovidethecapabilityto
monitor,inrealtime,thetrafficandtravelconditionsofthemajorhighwaysoftheUnitedStatesandto
sharethatinformationtoimprovesurfacetransportationsystemsecurity,addresscongestion,improve
responsetoweathereventsandsurfacetransportationincidents,andtofacilitatenationalandregional
highwaytravelerinformation.
5.1.2ProgramFunding
AStatemayuseitsNationalHighwaySystem,CongestionMitigationandAirQualityImprovement
program,andSurfaceTransportationFederalaidprogramapportionmentsforactivitiesrelatedtothe
planninganddeploymentofrealtimemonitoringelementsthatadvancethegoalsoftheRealtime
SystemManagementInformationProgram.TheFHWAhasissuedpolicyguidance,availableat
http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/travelinfo/resources/ops_memo.htm,indicatingthattransportation
systemoperationsactivities,suchasrealtimemonitoring,areeligibleunderthemajorFederalaid
programsnotedpreviously,withintherequirementsofthespecificprograms.Stateplanningand
researchfundsmayalsobeusedforactivitiesrelatingtotheplanningofrealtimemonitoringelements.
5.1.3ProgramGoals
BySeptember30,2009,theRealTimeSystemManagementInformationProgramshall:
(1)Establish,inallStates,asystemofbasicrealtimeinformationformanagingandoperatingthe
surfacetransportationsystem;
(2)Identifylongerrangerealtimehighwayandtransitmonitoringneedsanddevelopplansand
strategiesformeetingthoseneeds;and
(3)ProvidethecapabilityandmeanstosharethedatawithStateandlocalgovernmentsandthe
travelingpublic.

30

Section1201doesnotspecifyatimeframeforimplementingtheRealtimeSystem
ManagementInformationProgram.TheFHWAproposedtheimplementationdateofSeptember30,
2009,sinceitcoincideswiththeexpirationoftheSAFETEALUauthorization.
5.1.4ProgramOutcomes
TheRealTimeSystemManagementInformationProgramshallresultin:
(1)PubliclyavailabletravelerinformationWebsite(s)providingaccesstoinformationthatisderived
fromtherealtimeinformationcollectedbythesystemestablishedundertheprogram;
(2)511TravelInformationtelephoneservice(s)providingtocallersinformationthatisderivedfromthe
realtimeinformationcollectedbythesystemestablishedundertheprogram;
(3)RegionalIntelligentTransportationSystem(ITS)Architecturesupdatedtoreflectthesystems
establishedundertheprogram;and
(4)Accesstothedatacollectedbythesystemestablishedundertheprograminanestablisheddata
exchangeformatthroughstandardInternetprotocol(IP)communicationslinks.
Outcomes(1)and(2)relatetocommonlyavailablemethodsusedbypublicsectoragenciesto
disseminatetrafficandtravelerinformation.Outcome(3)relatesdirectlytoarequirementinsection
1201(c)(1)regardingregionalITSarchitectures.Outcome(4)relatestotheuseofcommondata
exchangeformatsrequiredbysection1201(c)(2).
5.1.5ProgramParameters
AspartofdescribingtheRealtimeSystemManagementInformationProgram,itisnecessaryto
establishdefinitionsforvariousparametersundertheprogram.Theseparameterswilldefinethe
contentandcontextforsystemsdevelopedandimplementedundertheprogram.Asnotedaboveunder
theprogrampurpose,trafficandtravelconditionsofmajorhighwaysaretobemonitoredinrealtime.
Thisnoticeproposeddefinitionsforthreeprincipaltermsusedindescribingtheprogramspurpose
majorhighways,trafficandtravelconditions,andrealtime.
MajorHighways
TheFHWAproposedthat,asaminimum,majorhighwaystobemonitoredbythesystemsimplemented
undertheRealtimeSystemManagementInformationProgramincludeallNationalHighwaySystem
(NHS)routesandotherlimitedaccessroadways.Inmetropolitanareas,majorarterialswithcongested
travelshouldbeincludedinthecoverageareasofsystemsimplementedundertheRealtimeSystem
ManagementInformationProgram.
TheNHSincludestheInterstateHighwaySystemaswellasotherroadsimportanttothenations
economy,defense,andmobility.TheNHSwasdevelopedbytheDOTincooperationwiththeStates,
localofficials,andmetropolitanplanningorganizations.MoredetailedinformationabouttheNHSis
availablefromtheFHWAathttp://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep10/nhs/.Becauseofthecriteriaunderwhich
theNHSwasdeveloped,itprovidesasoundfoundationforthehighwaystobemonitoredunderthe

31

program.Addingmajorarterialsinmetropolitanareashelpstheprogramaddresscongestionasnotedin
thepurposeoftheprogram.
TrafficandTravelConditions
TheFHWAproposedthatthebasictrafficandtravelconditionstobemonitoredbysystems
implementedundertheRealtimeSystemManagementInformationPrograminclude:
Roadorlaneclosuresbecauseofconstruction,trafficincidents,orroadwayweatherconditions;
Roadwayweatherorotherenvironmentalconditionsrestrictingoradverselyaffectingtravel;
Extentanddegreeofcongestedconditions,i.e.,lengthofroadwayexperiencingstopandgoorvery
slow(e.g.,prevailingspeedoftrafficlessthanhalfofspeedlimit)traffic;
Inmetropolitanareasthatexperiencerecurringtrafficcongestion,traveltimesorspeedsonlimited
accessroadways;and
Inmetropolitanareasthatexperiencerecurringtrafficcongestion,disruptionstopublictransportation
servicesandfacilities.
ThesebasictrafficandtravelconditionsarebasedonworkconductedbytheNational511
DeploymentCoalition(Coalition)indevelopingitsguidelinesforimplementing511travelinformation
telephoneservices.TheCoalitionguidelinesareavailablefromthe511DeploymentCoalitionat
http://www.deploy511.org.Ingeneral,theminimumconditionsareintendedtocaptureeventsand
occurrencesthatreducethecapacityofhighways(laneclosuresandadverseweatherconditions)or
presentunsafetravelconditions(congestion).Incongestedmetropolitanareas,theminimumconditions
areenhancedthroughtheadditionoftraveltimesandtransitservicedisruptionsasawayofcapturing
systemperformance.
RealTime
SystemsimplementedundertheRealtimeSystemManagementInformationProgramwillmonitorand
reflectcurrenttrafficandtravelconditionsaccordingtothefollowingminimumcriteria:
Constructionactivitiesaffectingtravelconditions,suchasimplementingorremovinglaneclosures,
willbeavailableasprograminformationwithin30minutesofthechange,withchangestobeavailable
within15minutesinmetropolitanareaswithfrequentorrecurringtrafficcongestion;
Roadwayorlaneblockingtrafficincidentinformationwillbeavailableasprograminformationwithin
15minutesoftheincidentbeingdetectedorreportedandverified;
Roadwayweatherconditionsareupdatedasprograminformationnolessfrequentlythan30minutes;
Trafficcongestioninformationwillbeupdatedasprograminformationnolessfrequentlythan15
minutes;and

32

Traveltimeinformation,whenreportedandavailableasprograminformation,willreflecttravel
conditionsoccurringnoolderthan10minutes.
Publictransportationservicedisruptions,whenreported,willbeupdatedasprograminformationno
lessfrequentlythan30minutes.
SincetheRealtimeSystemManagementInformationProgramappliestoallStates,these
minimumcriteriareflectsystemsthatemploymanualentryofinformation.Systemsthatusemore
automatedorintegratedinformationentryprocessesmaybeabletoreflectchangesinconditions
virtuallyimmediately.Thesecriteriaareintendedtopresentaggressivebutrealistictimeframesfor
reportingandenteringinformationincludingmanualentry,remotelypolledsensorstations,or
calculationofvalues.Theproposedcriteriaalsoconsidertheusefulnessoftheinformationtotravelers,
hencethedecreasedamountoftimeforrecordingconstructionactivitiesincongestedmetropolitan
areas.
5.1.6InformationQuality
Thequalityoftherealtimesystemmanagementinformationdependsonthetechniquesand
technologiesusedtorecordtheinformation.TheRealtimeSystemManagementInformationProgram
willnotspecifytechnologiesormethodstobeusedtocollectinformation;however,levelsofqualityfor
generalattributesmaybeprovided.
ThefollowingproposedlevelsofqualityfortwoattributesarebasedonthereportClosingthe
DataGap:GuidelinesforQualityAdvancedTravelerInformationSystem(ATIS)Datathatisavailable
fromtheDOTathttp://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov/JPODOCS/REPT_MIS/13580.html(Intelligent
TransportationSocietyofAmerica,ATISCommittee;September2000).
Accuracy
Accuracyindicateshowcloselytherecordedinformationmatchestheactualconditions.Allsensorsand
datacollectionsystemsaresubjecttoinaccuraciesfromsituationssuchasphysicalobstructions,
weatherconditions,andradiofrequencyinterference.Themoreaccuratethedataare,thehigherthe
qualityofinformationrecordedbythesystem.Thisattributeistypicallycharacterizedusingpercentages,
eitherasapercentageofaccuracyorasanerrorpercentage.Forexample,asystemmaybe
characterizedasbeing90percentaccurateorhavinga10percenterrorrate.Thisattributeisusedto
describetheaverageperformanceofthesensorsordatacollectionsystem.TheFHWAisconsidering
proposingthatsystemsimplementedundertheRealtimeSystemManagementInformationProgram
aretobe85percentaccurateataminimum,orhaveamaximumerrorrateof15percent.
Availability
Availabilityindicateshowmuchofthedatadesignedtobecollectedismadeavailable.Whilesensors
anddatacollectionsystemsareusuallydesignedtooperatecontinuously,inevitablyauserofthedata
willloseaccessfromtimetotime.Thisattributedescribestheaverageprobabilitythatagivendata
elementwillbeavailableforusefromaparticularsensorordatacollectionsystem.Forexample,ifa
sensorrecordsaveragespeedsataspecificpointoverfiveminuteintervals,12datapointsare
generatedeachhour.Overthecourseofayear,105,120datapointsshouldberecorded;however,if
33

2,100datapointswerenotavailableforuseoverthecourseoftheyear,theavailabilitywouldbe98
percent.Thisattributeessentiallycombinesfactorssuchassensororsystemreliability,maintenance
responsiveness,andfaulttoleranceintoasinglemeasurerelatedtodataoutput.Thebetterthetraffic
sensordatacollectionsystemisdesigned,operatedandmaintained,thehighertheavailability.The
FHWAisconsideringproposingthatsystemsimplementedundertheRealtimeSystemManagement
InformationProgramaretohave90percentavailabilityataminimum.
5.1.7DataExchangeFormats
Section1201(b)requiresthatwithintwoyearsofthedateofenactmentofSAFETEALU,theSecretary
ofTransportationistoestablishdataexchangeformatstoensurethatthedataprovidedbyhighwayand
transitmonitoringsystems,includingstatewideincidentreportingsystems,canbereadilyexchangedto
facilitatenationwideavailabilityofinformation.Statesshallalsoincorporatethesedataexchange
formatsinthesystemstheyimplementtosupporttheRealtimeSystemManagementInformation
Program.Ifafterdevelopment,thedataexchangeformatsareofficiallyadoptedthroughrulemakingby
theDOT,part940oftitle23,CodeofFederalRegulations,requiresinsection940.11(f)thatallITS
projectsfundedwithhighwaytrustfundsshallusetheapplicableDOTadoptedITSstandards.
OnOctober15,2007,theFHWApublishedanoticeintheFederalRegister(72FR58347)Interim
GuidanceontheInformationSharingSpecificationsandDataExchangeFormatsfortheRealTime
SystemManagementInformationProgram[21].

5.2ResponsestotheRequestforInformation
ThecommentssubmittedinresponsetotheMay2006RequestforCommentspresentedintheprevious
sectionwereusedtodevelopaproposedrulemakingregardingtheRTSMIPthatisanticipatedtobe
releasedsometimein2008.TheFHWAreceivedatotalof44commentstothedocket,ofwhich22of
thesubmissionswerefromStateDepartmentsofTransportation(DOTs).Responsesalsowerereceived
fromrepresentativesoftheprivatesectorandnationalassociations.
ManyoftheStateDOTsthatrespondedidentifiedthattheywerecapableofachievingmanyof
thegoalsoutlinedinthenoticeby2009,providedthattherewouldbeaphasedapproachforachieving
keymilestones.Thepublicsectorresponsesoftencitedfundinglimitations,budgetandplanningcycles,
andthelackofdatacollectioninfrastructureasobstaclestofullyachievingalloftheprogramgoalsbya
2009date.Alloftheprivatesectorresponsesindicatedthatallofthestatedobjectivescouldbe
achievedby2009andperhapssooner.
Theprivatesectorrespondentsgenerallyfeltthathavingtheinformationonnearlyeveryroad,
atleastinurbanareas,wasareasonablegoal.ManyStateandlocalpublicsectorrespondentsdid
supportreportingofconditionsalongarterialhighways,butpreferredtodefinewhichoneslocally.
Respondentsgenerallynotedthatruralandurbanareasmighthavedifferentneedsforcoverage.
SeveralruralStatesnotedthatmonitoringtheNationalHighwaySystemplusotherlimitedaccess
roadwayswouldoverwhelmtheirstrainedresourcesandwouldnotnecessarilyimprovethequalityof
thetrafficandtravelconditionsreporting.Oneprivatesectorrespondentsuggestedusingthesame
definitionofmajorhighwayasthemappingindustry.
34

Therewasgeneralsupportforincludingtraveltimesandspeeds,aswellasextentanddegreeof
congestedconditionsinurbanareas.SeveralruralStatesobjectedtothecongestionrequirement.
SeveralStatessuggestedaddingexpecteddurationforincidents,scheduledevents,HomelandSecurity
emergencynotifications,maintenanceworkzonesaswellasconstructionworkzones,hurricane
evacuation,andterroristacts.TherewasstrongandarticulateoppositionfromStatesaboutincluding
informationonpublictransportationdisruptions.
Therewasgeneralsupportfortheproposeddefinitionofrealtimeforcongestion,traveltime,
andlaneblockageinformation.Therewasnoconsensusamongtherespondentsconcerningthe
proposedthresholdsfortimelinessandaccuracy:privatesectorrespondentscommonlysuggestedmore
stringentthresholds,someStateagenciessuggestedweakerthresholds;someoverallrespondents
agreedwiththethresholdsidentifiedinthenotice.Severalrespondents,includingStateDOTs,noted
thatamorestringenttimelinessthreshold(5minutesorless)wouldbemoreusefultothepublic.Afew
Stateagenciesandprivatesectororganizationsnotedthattheywerealreadymeetingandexceeding
theseproposedthresholdrequirements.AfewStatesobjectedtothetimelinessthreshold
requirementsasinappropriateforruralareas.Severalrespondentsnotedthatthetimelinessthreshold
requirementsimplyeitherafullyautomatedsystemora24/7staff,whichislikelynotavailable
immediatelyinallareasofthecountry.
Overalltheresponsesreflectedreasonablesupportfortheproposedscopeoftheprogram,with
theacknowledgementthatthereweredissentingopinionsonsomedetails.Nearlyalltherespondents
anticipatedthattheFHWAwouldproposearuletoestablishaprogramtoadvancetheleveloftraffic
andtravelconditionsreportingavailabletoday.TheFHWAdeterminedtoproposearuletoexercisethe
authorityestablishedbyCongresstoprovideforcongestionreliefandtosupporttheDepartments
CongestionReliefInitiative.Itisexpectedthatthisproposedrulewillenablevariousmethodsfor
mitigatingtheeffectsofrecurringandnonrecurringcongestionbyassistingagenciesinproviding511
travelerinformation;enhancingtrafficincidentmanagement;improvingworkzonemobility;updating
andcoordinatingtrafficsignaltiming;andprovidinglocalizedbottleneckrelief.1
Thecommentsthatwerereceivedinthedocketthatwereofsignificantconcernandare
expectedtobeaddressedbytheproposedruleareintheareas:programphasingandcontent
requirements.Therewasaclearpreferenceforaphasedapproachinachievingtheprogram
implementationmilestones.TheFHWAisconsideringtwodistinctdatesforestablishingarealtime
informationprogram:onedeploymentforallInterstateswithinaspecifieddateafterthefinalruleis
publishedintheFederalRegister,andtheotherfornonInterstatehighwaysinmetropolitanareasbya
laterdatefromwhenthefinalruleispublishedintheFederalRegister.TheFHWAnotedtheinterestof
manypublicsectorrespondentsabouttheirpreferencetoselecttheroutesfortrafficandtravel
conditionsreporting.
Therewaswidevariabilityinthecontentrequirementsfortrafficandtravelconditionsreporting,
especiallyinselectingathresholdfordisseminatinginformationafterithasbeencollected.TheFHWA

AdditionalinformationaboutFHWAsfocusoncongestionisavailableatthefollowingURL:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/congestion/toolbox/index.htm.

35

consideredtheresponsesinparallelwiththetypesofinformationthatareneededtoprovide
congestionrelief.Basedonthecomments,thefocusoftheinformationtobereportedcenteredon
nonrecurrenteventslikeconstruction/maintenance;roadclosuresandmajordelays;majorspecial
events;and,weatherandroadsurfaceconditions.2

5.3TransportationSystemOperationsEnhancementsEnabledbythe
ProposedRule
Acriticalfactorintheabilityoftransportationmanagerstorespondeffectivelytoawidevarietyof
eventsandsituationsistheavailabilityofinformationthatconveystheoperatingstatusof
transportationfacilitiesinrealtime.Throughtheavailabilityofinformationthatimprovesupontodays
geographiccoverage,dataaccessibility,accuracy,andavailability,transportationsystemoperatorswill
havethetoolsnecessarytoreducecongestion,facilitateincidentmanagement,andimprove
managementoftransportationsystemsassets.
RealtimeinformationprogramscanbeestablishedsothatStateseasilycanexchange
informationontherealtimeoperationalstatusofthetransportationnetworkwithotherStatesand
withtheprivatesector,valueaddedinformationmarket.3Thiscooperationandsharingofinformation
couldstimulatethedisseminationoftrafficandtravelconditionsthatincludeWeborwirelessaccessto
routespecifictraveltimeandtollinformation;routeplanningassistanceusinghistoricalrecordsof
congestionbytimeofday;andcommunicationstechnologiesthatgathertrafficandincidentrelated
datafromasampleofvehiclestravelingonaroadwayandthenpublishingthatinformationtotravelers
viamobilephones,personaldigitalassistants(PDAs),incarunits,ordynamicmessagesigns.
Theestablishmentofrealtimeinformationprogramscouldenabletheexchangeofcommonly
appliedinformationamongpublicandprivatepartners,whichwillstimulatenationalavailabilityof
travelconditionsinformation.Realtimeinformationprogramscouldincreasetheavailablequantityof
dataforconditionsprediction,expandcommercialmarketsthatbrokerinformation,providevalidated
andaccuratedataforperformancemeasuredevelopmentandreporting,andstimulatenewinformation
productsthatcouldnotbeachievedwithpresentdaymethods.
TheRealTimeSystemManagementInformationProgramisfocuseduponmakingdataavailable
forarangeofapplicationsthatbenefitStatesandtravelers.Theproposedrulewouldprovidea
substantialfoundationforthecollectionandgatheringofdatainamannerthatwouldprovidecoherent
useforotherapplications.The511ImplementationandOperationalGuidelinesVersion3.04(2005)

ThesetypesofcontentareconsistentwiththosedocumentedinImplementationandOperationalGuidelinesfor
511Services,v.3.02005,availableatthefollowingURL:http://www.deploy511.org/implementationguide.htm.
Theguidelineswerepreparedbythe511DeploymentCoalitionoftheAmericanAssociationofStateHighwayand
TransportationOfficials(AASHTO),ITSAmerica,theAmericanPublicTransportationAssociation(APTA),andthe
USDOTtopromoteserviceconsistencytohelpachieveanationwide511system.
3
Thevalueaddedinformationmarketcreatesproductsintendedforcommercialuse,forsaletoacustomerbase,
orforothercommercialenterprisepurposes.ThemarketmayrelyoninformationgatheredbyState,fromother
sources,orfromthemarketsowncapabilitiestocreatetheinformation.
4
AvailableatthefollowingURL:http://www.deploy511.org/implementationguide.htm

36

illustratewhatdetailedinformationfromarealtimeinformationprogramcouldbeprovidedforother
applications:

LocationThelocationorportionofroutesegmentwhereareporteditemisoccurring,related
tomileposts,interchange(s)and/orcommonlandmark(s).

DirectionofTravelThedirectionoftravelwhereareporteditemisoccurring.

GeneralDescriptionandImpactAbriefaccountandimpactofthereporteditem.

Days/Hoursand/orDurationTheperiodinwhichthereporteditemisactiveandpossibly
affectingtravel.

TravelTimeorDelayThedurationoftravelingfrompointAtopointB,asegmentoratrip
expressedintime(ordelayatravelerwillexperience).

Detours/Restrictions/RoutingAdviceAsappropriate,summariesofrequireddetours,
suggestedalternateroutesormodesandrestrictionsassociatedwithareporteditem.

ForecastedWeatherandRoadSurfaceConditionsNeartermforecastedweatherand
pavementconditionsalongtheroutesegment.

CurrentObservedWeatherandRoadSurfaceConditionsConditionsknowntobeinexistence
thatimpacttravelalongtheroutesegment.

Theextentoftheproposedrulewouldbesolelytheprovisionofrealtimeinformation,yetthe
outcomespossiblethroughthisprogramwouldalsoreachthebusinessoftheprivatesectorandthe
publicsector.Itisexpectedthattheproposedrulewillnotbecenteredonaparticulartechnologynor
onatechnologydependentapplication.Statesestablishingarealtimeinformationprogramwouldbe
abletoemployanysolutionchosentomaketheinformationavailable.Statesandpublicagenciescan
enterintocollaborativeagreementswiththeprivatesectorforestablishingtheprogramandgathering
thedata.Statesandpublicagenciescanpurchasevalueaddedinformationproductsfromvalueadded
informationproviders.Statesandpublicagenciescanapplycombinationsofthese,andother,
approachestoestablishasuccessfulrealtimeinformationprogram.

37

Chapter6ConclusionsandRecommendations
Satisfyingdataqualityanddataaccuracyrequirementsisakeystepintheimplementationofrealtime
informationprograms.Dataqualityisakeyfactorintheeffectivenessofcongestionmanagementand
travelerinformationsystemapplicationsthatrelyondatafromvarioussources.Thiswhitepaper
identifiedthedataqualitymeasuresthatshouldbeconsideredwithinITSapplicationsandhowtheycan
beappliedtoexistingsystems.Thestudyinitiallyprovidedanoverviewofpreviousstudiesfollowedbya
discussionofdataqualityissuesassociatedwithpublicandprivatesectors,providingspecificationsfor
dataqualitymeasuresforsamplerealtimetravelinformationapplications,andfinallyidentifyingthe
needsofarealtimeITSprogram.
ThepaperexaminedthequalityoftrafficdatainexistingrealtimeATISapplicationsforboththe
publicandprivatesector.Forinstance,the511DeploymentCoalitionemployedtheaccuracy,timeliness,
reliability,consistencyofpresentation,andrelevancyofinformationasimportantparametersto
enhancedataqualityandconsistencyacrossvarioussystems.However,inmanycasesthealgorithms
usedbytheprivatesectorarenotmadepublic,presumablytopromoteacompetitiveadvantage,and
thusverificationandvalidationofthesesystemsisextremelylimited.
SixprimaryinterfacesandtheirassociatedapplicationsweredefinedintheInterimGuidanceon
InformationSharingSpecificationsandDataExchangeFormatsreport.Thestudysummarizedsample
applicationsrelatedtorealtimeATISsandtheirdatarequirements.RealtimeATISapplicationsrequire
varioustrafficrelatedparameters.Eachapplicationrequiresauniquesetoftrafficrelatedparameters,
differentlevelsofdataflow,anddatabasemanagement.Thispaperprovidesrecommendeddataquality
measuresforthreewidelyutilizedtrafficrelatedparameters,traveltime,speed,andweather
information.Theserecommendationsweredefinedforeachofthesixdataqualitymeasures,accuracy,
completeness,validity,timeliness,coverage,andaccessibility.

ITStechnologiesareevolvingfastandnewdatacollectiontechnologiesarebeingdeployed.In
addition,datacollectionmethodsarefrequentlyupdatedwithinITSapplications.Thegrowing
deploymentsofITSprojectsrequireextensiveevaluationofdataqualityandmoreextensivevalidation
oftheseapplicationsisrecommended.Moreover,thedevelopmentofdataqualitystandardsfor
differentapplicationsaswellasdatacollectionequipmentwillbecomeanimportantaspectofrealtime
ATISapplications.Theproposedstandardizationcouldincreasethequalityandaccuracyofthedata
collected,decreasetheeffortneededtotransferdata,andincreasethereliabilityoffieldequipment.

38

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FederalHighwayAdministration
U.S.DepartmentofTransportation
1200NewJerseyAvenue,SE
Washington,DC20590
TollFreeHelpLine8663677487
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov
PublicationNumber:FHWAHOP08038

42