533372 Highway Engineering The Human Sensory Process

The order of the senses most used by

drivers are:
Road User and Vehicle Characteristics
1. Visual (sight)
2. Kinesthetic (movement)
3. Vestibular (equilibrium)
Surames Piriyawat, Ph.D. 4. Auditory (hearing)
Department of Civil Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Burapha University
Dr. Surames Piriyawat 1 Dr. Surames Piriyawat 2

Visual Characteristics of Drivers Visual Characteristics of Drivers

Fields of vision: Fields of vision:

o Acute or clear vision cone: 3 to 10 around
the line of sight; legend can be read only
within this narrow field of vision
o Fairly clear vision cone: 10 to 12 around the
line of sight; color and shape can be identified
in this field
o Peripheral vision: up to 90 to the right and
the left of the center line of the pupil, and up
to 60 above and 70 below the line of sight
Dr. Surames Piriyawat 3 Dr. Surames Piriyawat 4
 Perception-Reaction Time (PRT) or PIEV Time Expectancy
Four distinct processes that the driver
Three difference types of expectancies:
must perform during PRT:
o Detection or Perception o Continuity: experiences of the immediate
past are generally expected to continue
o Identification
o Event: things that have not happened
o Decision or Emotion previously will not happen
o Response or Volition o Temporal: when events are cyclic, the longer
a given state is observed, drivers will
PRT or PIEV times vary from less than 0.5 sec assume that it is more likely that a change
to 3 sec or more will occur

Dr. Surames Piriyawat 5 Dr. Surames Piriyawat 6

Other Factors Affecting PRT Reaction Distance

PRTs increase with a number of factors The reaction distance may be computed as:
including:
d r = 1.47 St
o Age
o Fatigue where :
o Complexity of reaction d r = reaction dista nce, ft
S = initial speed of vehicle, mi / h
o Presence of alcohol and/or drugs in the
drivers system t = reaction time, s

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 Pedestrian Characteristics Walking speeds:

(m) (minutes)
1,500 20
750 10
375 5
180 2

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Vehicle Characteristics Vehicle type and size:

AASHTO classify vehicle into four main categories:

o Passenger car: all passenger cars, SUVs,
minivan, vans, and pickup trucks
o Buses: intercity motor coaches, transit
buses, school buses, and articulated buses
o Trucks: single-unit trucks, tractor-trailer, and
tractor-semi-trailer combination vehicle
o Recreational vehicles: motor homes, cars
with various types of trailers (boat, campers,
motorcycle, etc.
Dr. Surames Piriyawat 11 Dr. Surames Piriyawat 12
Dr. Surames Piriyawat 13 Dr. Surames Piriyawat 14

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 Concept of the design vehicle:

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Critical vehicle properties that must be accounted

for in the design of roadways and traffic controls:

o Breaking and deceleration

o Acceleration
o Low-speed turning characteristics
o High-speed turning characteristics

Dr. Surames Piriyawat 19 Dr. Surames Piriyawat 20

 Turning Characteristics of Vehicles High-speed turns (> 10 mi/h):
take side friction and superelevation into consideration
Low-speed turns
( 10 mi/h): 0.01e + f S2
= or
minimum turning 1 0.01ef gR
radii range from 24.0 S2
R=
ft for a passenger car 15(0.01e + f )
to a high of 60.0 ft
for the WB-109D where :
double tractor-trailer e = su perelevation rate, %
combination vehicle f = coefficient of side friction
S = speed of the vehicle, ft / s
R = radius of curvature, ft
g = acceleration rate due to gravity , 32.2 ft / s 2

Dr. Surames Piriyawat 21 Dr. Surames Piriyawat 22

Braking Characteristics
Coefficient of side friction (f) for wet pavement Express speed in ft/s:
S2 where :
at various speed db = d b = braking dist ance, ft
2a
Express speed in mi/h: S = initial speed , ft / s
Speed 30 40 50 60 70 1.075S 2 a = deceleration rate, ft / s 2
db =
(mi/h) a
f 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.12 0.10 If the final speed is not equal to zero:
where :
S i2 S 2f
db = G = grade, %
30( F 0.01G ) S i = initial speed , mi / h
S f = final speed , mi / h
F = the coefficient of forward rolling
a
or skiding friction =
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 Acceleration Characteristics Total Stopping Distance

S i2 S 2f
1.075S 2
d = 1.47 Si t +
da = 30(0.348 0.01G )
a
where :
where :
d = total stopping dist ance, ft
d a = acceleration dist ance, ft
G = grade, %
S = speed at the end of acceleration ( from a stop ), mi / h
a = acceleration rate, ft / s 2
Si = initial speed , mi / h
S f = final speed , mi / h
t = reaction time, s

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Safe Stopping Sight Distance Decision Sight Distance

S i2 S 2f S i2 S 2f
d = 1.47 Si t + d = 1.47 Si t +
30(0.348 0.01G ) 30(0.348 0.01G )
For example : given
For example : given
d = decision sight dist ance, ft
d = safe stopping sight dist ance, ft
G = 3% down grade = 3 %
G = level terrain, grade = 0 %
Si = 60 mi / h
Si = 70 mi / h
S f = 0 mi / h
S f = 0 mi / h
t =14.5 s (allow complex path and speed changes
t = st andard reaction time = 2.5 s
in response to conditions )
70 2 0 2 60 2 0 2
d = 1.47 * 70 * 2.5 + = 726.6 ft d = 1.47 * 60 *14.5 + = 1,656.3 ft
30(0.348 0) 30(0.348 0.01* 3)
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 Vehicle Performance Characteristics Inertia Resistance, Fi

A vehicles motion tends to be restarted by at least Fi = 28WA

five types of resistance:
where :
o Inertia resistance
Fi = , kg.
o Grade resistance W= , tons
o Rolling resistance A= , km/h/s
o Curve resistance
o Air resistance

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Grade Resistance, Fg Rolling Resistance, Fr

95 km/h
Fg = W cos .
g 14 kg/tons
100
10% 16 km/h
where :
, kg.
Fg =
W = , tons 10-14 kg/tons
G = , %
Fn =
5% cos 1
Fg = 10 WG
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 Curve Resistance, Fc


(kg/tons) Fc =
Wv 2
= (NL + NR ) f e=
v2
gR gR
where :
(km/h) Fc = , kg.
32 48 64 80 W= , kg.
13 15 18 23 v= , m/s
R= , m.
14 16 23 28 g= , m/s2
16 18 26 34 NL , NR = , kg.
f =
e= (Superelevation), m. (ver.)/m(hor.)
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The relation between friction coefficient (f) and

design speed for general pavement

Design 32 48 64 80 97 113 129

Speed
(km/h)
f 0.17 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.12 0.10 0.08

Wv 2 v2
Fc = = (NL + NR ) f e=
gR gR

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 Air Resistance, Fa Power Requirements
RV
Fa = 0.0011AV 2 P=
550
where : where :
Fc = , kg. P= , kg.
A= , m2 R= Fi+Fg+Fr+Fc+Fa, Pounds
V= , km/h V= , ft/s
P = 0.0036 RV
For passenger car: A 2.34 m2 where :
P= , kg.
For truck: A 8.10 m2 R= Fi+Fg+Fr+Fc+Fa, kg.
V= , km/h

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