TRAFFIC SURVEY T12

There are many reasons for the changes in traffic flow during a day, the obvious one being “rush hour”
travel to & from work. Traffic jams & congestion can occur from time to time, perhaps due to a lorry
unloading or a special event that is taking place.

ACTIVITY
(a) List 8 -10 different reasons why traffic may become congested in Ironbridge.
(b) If you drew a “Prediction Graph” showing the traffic flow in Ironbridge over 24 hours what would
it look like hour by hour. Draw your own graph using EXCEL, for each hour, using the data &
labels below. (you can use a label more than once & even add extra ones)
Imagine that the highest no of vehicles passing in one hour was 500
Imagine when deliveries may take place to shops.
Imagine that besides cars there were also other types of vehicles.

No traffic. Wet morning Sunny afternoon Traffic congestion.

People travelling to work. People returning home from work.

Light traffic flow. Large number of tourists. Very heavy traffic.

Local people shopping. Traffic increasing. Traffic decreasing.

Lunch hour traffic. Evening traffic to local pubs & restaurants.

Peak traffic flow.

EMBED Excel.Sheet.8

(c) Using the Census sheet below, or one similar, carry out your own traffic survey & compare it with
your own “Prediction Graph”.
o This activity will certainly be done as a group.
o You will need to make sure you are at your CORRECT SURVEY POINT. Check & record if
you are recording IN or OUT traffic.
o On this sheet you are recording in 5 minute blocks for 30 minutes .You may be asked to record
for less time.
o Remember it is a team effort & you should stick to the time set or the results will not be
accurate & RELIABLE.
o Complete your TALLY (count) like this //// = 5. //// // =7.
 TRAFFIC COUNT (TALLY) SHEET
CENSUS TAKEN AT (Place)................................................. STUDENT'S NAME ...............................................
DATE: ...................START TIME ............. IN to town / OUT away from town
cross out one)

Vans & Mini Bus &

Time Cycles Motor.Cy Cars & Taxis buses Coach Lorries Artic's.

0-5 min

5-10m.

10-
15m.

15-
20m.

20-
25m.

25-
30m.

AFTER TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL

30 min. ......... ............ ........... .......... ........... ......... .........

VMU's ........ ........... ............ ............ ............ ......... .........

TOTAL VMU's ( VEHICLE MOBILITY UNITS ) after 30 minutes is .................................................

VEHICLE MOBILITY UNITS –VMU’s

This is a VEHICLE
simple wayTYPE
of estimating if a road is wide WORTH
enough for the AMOUNT of traffic & the
TYPE of traffic flowing along it. Each type of vehicle is given a value based on it’s
manoeuvrability
CYCLES & the space it takes up on the road. 1
MOTOR CYCLE 1
CARS & TAXIS 2
VANS & MINIBUSES 3
BUSES & COACHES 6
LORRIES 6
ARTICULATED LORRIES 8
 What to do
(1) Count the number of vehicles pasing your survey point.
(2) Each type of vehicle is worth a different score.
(3) Calculate & add up the total number of point.
(4) This represents a VMU score.
(5) You need a VMU score for 1 hour (if you recorded for only 30 min. X your score
by 2. If you score is only for 15 min then X by 4)

You now need to see if your road is too narrow for the amount of traffic recorded.

(6) Use the details below to find out if CONGESTION is likely to happen & there could be
angry motorists & traffic jams.

TYPE OF ROAD VMU TOTAL PER HOUR

Narrow single lane road with passing places 200
Two lane road but with -Kerbside parking or
Unloading bays or
Traffic calming 400
Ordinary two lane road 750
Three lane road 1500
Dual carriageway (2 lanes each side) 3000
Motorway (3 lanes each way) 6000

EXTRA ACTIVITY
(7) Try to produce flow diagrams of some of your results.