Traffic engineering is a branch of civil engineering that uses engineering techniques to achieve the safe and efficient movement of people and goods.

It focuses mainly on research and construction of the immobile infrastructure necessary for this movement, such as roads, railway tracks, bridges, traffic signs and traffic lights.

Increasingly however, instead of building additional infrastructure, dynamic elements are also introduced into road traffic management.

These use sensors to measure traffic flows and automatic, interconnected guidance systems (for example traffic signs which open a lane in different directions depending on the time of day) to manage traffic especially in peak hours. The relationship between lane flow (Q) (vehicles per hour) maximum speed (V) (kilometers per hour) and density (K) (vehicles per kilometer) is Q = KV.

Observation on limited access facilities suggests that up to a maximum flow, speed does not decline while density increases, but above a critical threshold, increased density reduces speed, and beyond a further threshold, increased density reduces flow as well..

For more information about the topic Traffic engineering (transportation), read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Civil engineering — In modern usage, civil engineering is a broad field of engineering that deals with the planning, construction, and maintenance of fixed structures, ...  > read more

Road-traffic safety — Road-traffic safety aims to reduce the harm (deaths, injuries, and property damage) resulting from crashes of road vehicles traveling on public ...  > read more

Transport — Transport or transportation is the movement of people, goods, signals and information. The field of transport has several aspects: loosely they can ...  > read more

Fluid dynamics — Fluid dynamics is the subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that studies fluids (liquids and gases) in motion. The discipline has a number of ...  > read more

Related Stories

Stop-And-Go Traffic: An Accident? Construction Work? No, Just Too Much Traffic (March 5, 2008) — A new study from a Japanese research group explains why we're occasionally caught in traffic jams for no visible reason. The real origin of traffic jams often has nothing to do with obvious ...  > read more

If All Drivers Were Polite, They Would Get Where They're Going Faster (May 24, 2006) — A new study from the University of Michigan found that traffic metering systems that incorporate new algorithms for merging could reduce the seriousness of traffic slowdowns that originate near ...  > read more

'Smart' Traffic Sign Stops Collisions (July 30, 2007) — Researchers have developed a "smart" traffic sign that helps drivers make correct decisions and avoid collisions at traffic intersections that lack traffic signals. The device consists of two cameras ...  > read more

Traffic Jam Mystery Solved By Mathematicians (December 19, 2007) — Mathematicians have solved the mystery of traffic jams by developing a model to show how major delays occur on our roads, with no apparent cause. Many traffic jams leave drivers baffled as they ...  > read more

Traffic Woes? New Method Allows Traffic Optimization Over Large Geographic Areas (May 14, 2008) — How can traffic be monitored and controlled more effectively? Scientists have now developed methods of determining the traffic situation across a wide area, and have refined processes that enable ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily

Slowing Down Speeders