Course overview
The main aim of this course is to allow students to develop an understanding of the role of the traffic engineer in traffic planning and operations by providing a comprehensive understanding of traffic flow theory and analysis and their application in assessing the performance of intersections. This course introduces civil engineering students to traffic engineering and its role in modern society, including aspects of the following topics: a collection of traffic data, headway distributions, gap and delay models, speed and flow relationships, roadway capacity - uninterrupted and interrupted flow, isolated traffic signal design, coordinated traffic signals and application of traffic simulation models.
Course learning outcomes
- Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of traffic engineering and the contextual factors which influence decision making within the discipline (PO1), (EA 1.1, 1.2, 1.3)
- Analyse and assess the performance of intersections through an understanding of traffic flow theories and the use of relevant software (PO 1,4,5), (EA 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.3)
- Identify, formulate and solve traffic problems using established traffic engineering methods in an innovative way (PO 1,4,5), (EA 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.3)