CIVE461: Highway Engineering

Unit A: Introduction

Road Characteristics

Required Reading: AASHTO Ch. 3, pp. 109-126 (on Moodle)

 Sight Distance
(AASHTO, 2004, pp. 110)

• Driver’s ability to see ahead is important for safe

and efficient operations

• “Sight distance: is the length of the roadway

ahead that is visible to the driver

• The available sight distance on a roadway should

be sufficiently long to enable a vehicle traveling at
or near the design speed to stop before reaching
a stationary object in its path.” 2
 Outline
• Stopping sight distance
• Decision sight distance
• Passing sight distance

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Stopping Sight
Distance

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 Stopping Sight Distance (SSD)

• Minimum sight distance required for driver

to stop a vehicle after “seeing” object in
vehicle’s path (without hitting the object)
2
V
SSD = V × t +
 a  
2 g    ± G 
 g  
Distance traveled during
P-R time (brake reaction distance) Braking distance

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 Design Considerations
• A properly designed roadway will provide
the minimum stopping sight distance at
every point along its length (i.e. actual sight
distance on the road required SSD)
• To include the SSD in design:
– Calculate the SSD for a vehicle traveling on the
roadway at the design speed
– Then make sure that the actual sight distance
provided is at least as great as the SSD
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 Stopping Sight Distance (SSD)
(cont.)
• Critical sections of highway where sight
distance is restricted: vertical and
horizontal curves

• SSD requirements impose design controls

on elements of roadway geometry:
– Minimum length of vertical curves
– Minimum radius of horizontal curves
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Design Guidelines for Stopping Sight Distance
Level Road (G = 0)
(AASHTO 2004 – Exhibit 3-1)

Deceleration rate of 3.4 m/s2 used to determine

calculated braking distance.

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Design Guidelines for Stopping Sight Distance
Accounting for Grade
(AASHTO 2004 – Exhibit 3-2)

Equation for braking distance Stopping sight distance

+ G for uphill
- G for downhill

(Note: considered for wet pavement conditions with same speeds

and brake reaction times as level roads in Exhibit 3-1) 12
 Variation for Trucks
• SSD based on passenger car operation; trucks are
not explicitly considered
• Heavier/longer trucks need longer stopping
distances, but their SSD is not considered in most
designs
• On the other hand, a balancing factor is the
height of truck cabs which permits higher sight
clearance
• Recommendation of longer than design SSD (in
Exhibits 3-1 or 3-2) for downhill where there are
horizontal sight obstructions 13
Decision Sight
Distance

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 Decision Sight Distance
• Stopping sight distance is adequate for alert
drivers and ordinary conditions (where stimulus is
“expected” by driver)
• A longer stopping sight distance is required when:
– There is an unexpected stimulus or difficult to perceive
information;
– There is a likelihood of error in information reception
or decision making; or
– Unusual maneuvers are required

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 Decision Sight Distance (cont.)
• Decision sight distance is required in cases
such as:
– Changes in roadway cross-section (lane drops
or toll plazas)
– Interchanges
– Area where different sources of information
(traffic, control devices, advertisements, etc.)
compete for driver’s attention

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 Decision Sight Distance (cont.)
• Definition: DSD is the distance traveled while
recognizing an object or hazard, plotting an
avoidance course, and making the necessary
maneuvers
• The longer DSD allows the driver to:
– Detect difficult-to-perceive info sources
– Recognize item/hazard
– Select appropriate response (speed, path, etc.)
– Initiate and complete necessary maneuvers safely20
 Design Considerations
• Providing the extra sight distance will
probably increase the cost of a project, but
it will also increase safety
• It is up to the engineer to decide when to
use the DSD
• Provided in areas that need extra margin of
safety

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 Decision Sight
Distance Guidelines
(AASHTO 2004,
Exhibit 3-3)

Avoidance Maneuver A: Stop on rural road—t = 3.0 s

Avoidance Maneuver B: Stop on urban road—t = 9.1 s
Avoidance Maneuver C: Speed/path/direction change on rural road—t varies between 10.2 and 11.2 s
Avoidance Maneuver D: Speed/path/direction change on suburban road—t varies between 12.1 and 12.9 s
Avoidance Maneuver E: Speed/path/direction change on urban road—t varies between 14.0 and 14.5 s

Exhibit 3-3. Decision Sight Distance

[DSD - Derived from empirical data]
If length is not available because of horizontal or vertical curvature, install suitable
traffic control devices for providing advance warning.
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 Decision Sight Distance Formulas

Decision sight distances for Decision sight distances for

avoidance maneuvers avoidance maneuvers
A and B C, D, and E

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Passing Sight Distance

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 Passing Sight Distance (PSD)
(Two-Lane Highways)
• It is the minimum sight distance required
for a 2-lane, 2-way highway in order to
permit a driver to complete a passing
maneuver:
– without colliding with the opposite vehicle
– without cutting off the passed vehicle
• For design purposes, PSD are obtained /
determined for a single vehicle (Veh1)
passing a single vehicle (Veh2) 25
Passing Phases

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 Assumptions to Determine
Minimum PSD
• Vehicle being passed (Veh2) is traveling at a uniform speed
• Veh1 travels at the same speed as Veh2 prior to passing
maneuver
• Time is required for driver of Veh1 to decide whether to pass
or not
• After decision to pass, Veh1 accelerates
• Average passing speed (during occupancy of left lane) is 15
km/h more than the speed of Veh2
• Suitable clearance exists between passing vehicle (Veh1) and
any opposing vehicle when Veh1 re-enters the right lane

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 AASHTO Requirements
• Goal is to provide most drivers with a sight
distance that gives them a feeling of safety
and encourages them to pass slower
vehicles
• The minimum PSD recommended by
AASHTO for 2-lane (2-way) highways is the
sum of 4 components

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 AASHTO Requirements
Four Components of Minimum PSD

• d1 = distance traveled during P-R time and during initial

acceleration to point where Veh1 just enters left lane: P-R
distance + distance to begin encroachment on left lane
• d2 = distance traveled while Veh1 occupies left lane
• d3 = clearance length: distance between Veh1 and
opposing vehicle at end of passing maneuver (for safety)
• d4 = distance traveled by opposing vehicle for two thirds
of the time the passing vehicle (Veh1) occupies the left
lane, or 2/3 of d2

PSD min = d1+ d2+ d3+ d4

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 AASHTO Requirements
Four Components of Minimum PSD
(cont.)
• Initial maneuver distance (d1)
Source: AASHTO,
2004, p. 121

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 AASHTO Requirements
Four Components of Minimum PSD
(cont.)
• Distance while passing vehicle occupies left lane
(d2)

Source: AASHTO, 2004, p. 122

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 AASHTO Requirements
Four Components of Minimum PSD
(cont.)
• Clearance length (d3)
– Depends on speed

• Distance traversed by an opposing vehicle (d4)

– d4 = 2/3 d2
– Assumptions:
• Opposing vehicle travels at the same speed as Veh1
• Opposing vehicle appears at time Veh1 is passing Veh2 (most
critical)

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 Elements of Safe PSD for Design of Two-
Lane Highways (AASHTO 2004 – Exhibit 3-5)

Note: speed is in km/h; acceleration is in km/h/s; distance is in m. 33

Total PSD and Its Components – Two-
Lane Highways (AASHTO 2004 – Exhibit 3-6)

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PSD for Design of Two-Lane Highways
(AASHTO 2004 – Exhibit 3-7)

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 Design Considerations
(AASHTO 2004, p. 123)
• “The ranges of speeds of the passed and passing vehicles
are affected by traffic volume.
– When traffic volume is low (level-of-service A), there are few
vehicles that need to be passed, but
– As the volume increases (level-of-service D or lower), there are
few, if any, passing opportunities.
• The values in the last column of Exhibit 3-7 are design
values for minimum passing sight distance.
• In designing a highway, these distances should be
exceeded as much as practical, and passing sections
should be provided as often as can be done at reasonable
cost to provide as many passing opportunities as
practical.” 36
Frequency and Length of Passing
Sections
• Depends on topography, design speed of
highway, expected volume of traffic, and
cost
• Cost: in steep mountainous terrain, might
be more economical to build intermittent
4-lane sections or passing lanes with SSD
on some 2-lane highways instead of 2-lane
sections with PSD
• At 60 km/h, SSD = 85 m while PSD = 410 m 37