Capacity Adjustment Factor

Adjustment factor for reducing or increase the base

HCM capacities. This adjustment comes from knowledge
of site specific conditions or other special events, such
as construction, weather or accidents. Suggested Number of Lanes
capacity adjustment factors are presented on HCM The number of lanes (N) on which the traffic flows in the
Pages 22-6 thru 22-12. analysis direction. This value is used to express the
computed flow rate on a per-lane basis. This value is
repeated in the Base Free-Flow Speed Adjustments
Segment Demand section to show what is used for the adjustment for
The flow rate of vehicles that wish to enter the freeway number of lanes.
facility. This volume includes passenger cars, buses,
trucks and RV’s. This value is entered as an hourly flow
rate.

Free-Flow Speed
Field Measured (FFS) or Base (BFFS) is selected to show
whether the speed entered is field measured, or an
estimated ideal free-flow speed. If a field-measured
free-flow speed is entered, no adjustments are made. If
an ideal free-flow speed estimate is entered, additional
data fields need to be coded to adjust for the effects of
median type, lane width, lateral clearance and access
points. Guidance on estimating speed is given on HCM
Page 23-5.
Free-Flow Speed
Field Measured (FFS) or Base (BFFS) is selected to show
whether the speed entered is field measured, or an
estimated ideal free-flow speed. If a field-measured
free-flow speed is entered, no adjustments are made. If
an ideal free-flow speed estimate is entered, additional
data fields need to be coded to adjust for the effects of
median type, lane width, lateral clearance and access
points. Guidance on estimating speed is given on HCM
Page 23-5.

Rural
The free-flow speed adjustment for number of lanes is Number of Lanes
chosen from HCM Exhibit 23-6. This values is set to 0.0 if The number of lanes (N) on which the traffic flows in the
the Rural Freeways box is checked as prescribed in HCM analysis direction. This value is used to express the
Exhibit 23-6. computed flow rate on a per-lane basis. This value is
repeated in the Base Free-Flow Speed Adjustments
Jam Density section to show what is used for the adjustment for
The system wide maximum density when traffic is number of lanes.
stopped.
Driver Population Adjustment Factor (fP)
The driver population adjustment factor is used in HCM
Terrain Equation 23-2 to account for the possible variation in
The type of terrain is selected from a list including Level, traffic flow for differing driver populations.
Rolling, Mountainous and Grade. If Level, Rolling or
Mountainous is selected, no further grade information
is needed. The adjustment factors for trucks and buses,
and RVs, are chosen from HCM Exhibit 23-8. Refer to
HCM Page 23-8 for descriptions of horizontal and
vertical alignments which constitute each of these
terrain categories. If Grade is selected, one field
combination will be coded for the percent and length of
the grade being analyzed. For Planning analyses, terrain Active Time Period
type is limited to level, rolling or mountainous. The time period for which data must be coded into the
table below.

Number of Time Periods

The number of time periods in the analysis. A unique set
of inputs are required for each time period. The
maximum number of time periods allowed is 12.
Peak-Hour Factor
The peak-hour factor (PHF) is used to adjust the traffic
volume for peak conditions.
Segment Type
Select the segment type for each segment. The
procedure to segment a freeway is shown on HCM
Pages 22-4 and 22-5. Segment types are: B (Basic
Freeway Segment), ONR (On-Ramp Segment), OFR (Off-
Ramp Segment), WA ( Weaving Segment, Type A), WB
(Weaving Segment, Type B), WC (Weaving Segment,
Type C), R (Overlapping Ramp Segments).