Traffic Analysis Toolbox Volume VI:
Definition, Interpretation, and Calculation of
Traffic Analysis Tools Measures of Effectiveness

Foreword

Traffic analysis tools are used pervasively by transportation professionals to analyze transportation systems. While traffic analysis tools have the capability to provide meaningful insights into transportation analyses, far too often the definition and interpretation of the output measures of effectiveness vary between the analysis tools.

The purpose of the Definition, Interpretation, and Calculations of Traffic Analysis Tools Measures of Effectiveness document is to provide transportation professionals with understanding of some of the most commonly used measures of effectiveness (MOEs) generated by traffic simulation and analytical tools. and provide guidance on the calculation of the MOEs in some of the common analysis tools. It is hoped that this document will assist the transportation community in creating a more consistent process in the interpretation of MOEs from various analysis tools.

The intended audience for this report is the transportation professional or manager who needs an understanding of the MOEs generated by traffic simulation and analysis tools.

Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products of manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No.

FHWA-HOP-08-054

2. Government Accession No.

3. Recipient's Catalog No.

4. Title and Subtitle

Volume VI: Definition, Interpretation, and Calculation of Traffic Analysis Tools Measures of Effectiveness

5. Report Date

January 2007

6. Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s)

Richard Dowling

8. Performing Organization Report No.

Project 6115

9. Performing Organization Name and Address

Cambridge Systematic, Inc.
100 Cambridge Park Drive, Suite 400
Cambridge, MA 02140

10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

11. Contract or Grant No.

DTFH61-02-C-00036

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Operations, HOTM
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

Final Report
October 2005 - October 2006

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

15. Supplementary Notes

FHWA COTR: John Halkias, Office of Operations, and Grant Zammit, Office of Operations R&D

16. Abstract

This report presents the results of an investigation into the appropriate definition, interpretation, and computation of measures of effectiveness (MOEs) for traffic operations and capacity improvements. Information and guidance on which MOEs should be produced, how they should be interpreted, and how they are be defined and calculated in traffic analysis tools are detailed in this report. The document recommends a basic set of MOEs that can help rapidly assess the current problems, and benefits of alternative improvements at the system level, in a form readily understandable by the decision-maker. These basic set of MOEs for decision-making consists of five basic measures: 1) throughput, 2) mean delay, 3) travel time index, 4) Freeway segments at breakdown, and 5) surface street intersections with long queues, turn bay overflows and exit blockages. The report recommends that vehicle trajectories should be used as the common denominator for comparison of results between tools and methods between field data collection and analytical tools (HCM, Microsimulation, etc.). At this microscopic level, the analyst can compare field data to analysis tool outputs, whether the tool is microscopic or macroscopic.

Finally, this report concludes by illustrating the computation and interpretation of the recommended systemwide MOEs for a freeway and an urban arterial street.

17. Key Words

Next Generation Simulation, NGSIM, traffic simulation, vehicle trajectory, detection, tracking, image preprocessing.

18. Distribution Statement

No Restrictions.

19. Security Classification (of this report)

Unclassified

20. Security Classification (of this page)

Unclassified

21. No of Pages

128

22. Price

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized

Metric Conversion Factors
(International System of Units)

APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS
SYMBOL	WHEN YOU KNOW	MULTIPLY BY	TO FIND	SYMBOL
LENGTH
in	inches	25.4	millimeters	mm
ft	feet	0.305	meters	m
yd	yards	0.914	meters	m
mi	miles	1.61	kilometers	km
AREA
in²	square inches	645.2	square millimeters	mm²
ft²	square feet	0.093	square meters	m²
yd²	square yard	0.836	square meters	m²
ac	acres	0.405	hectares	ha
mi²	square miles	2.59	square kilometers	km²
VOLUME
fl oz	fluid ounces	29.57	milliliters	mL
gal	gallons	3.785	liters	L
ft³	cubic feet	0.028	cubic meters	m³
yd³	cubic yards	0.765	cubic meters	m³
NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m³
MASS
oz	ounces	28.35	grams	g
lb	pounds	0.454	kilograms	kg
T	short tons (2000 lb)	0.907	megagrams (or "metric ton")	Mg (or "t")
TEMPERATURE (exact degrees)
^oF	Fahrenheit	5 (F-32)/9 or (F-32)/1.8	Celsius	^oC
ILLUMINATION
fc	foot-candles	10.76	lux	lx
fl	foot-Lamberts	3.426	candela/m²	cd/m²
FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS
lbf	poundforce	4.45	newtons	N
lbf/in²	poundforce per square inch	6.89	kilopascals	kPa

APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS
SYMBOL	WHEN YOU KNOW	MULTIPLY BY	TO FIND	SYMBOL
LENGTH
mm	millimeters	0.039	inches	in
m	meters	3.28	feet	ft
m	meters	1.09	yards	yd
km	kilometers	0.621	miles	mi
AREA
mm²	square millimeters	0.0016	square inches	in²
m²	square meters	10.764	square feet	ft²
m²	square meters	1.195	square yards	yd²
ha	hectares	2.47	acres	ac
km²	square kilometers	0.386	square miles	mi²
VOLUME
mL	milliliters	0.034	fluid ounces	fl oz
L	liters	0.264	gallons	gal
m³	cubic meters	35.314	cubic feet	ft³
m³	cubic meters	1.307	cubic yards	yd³
MASS
g	grams	0.035	ounces	oz
kg	kilograms	2.202	pounds	lb
Mg (or "t")	megagrams (or "metric ton")	1.103	short tons (2000 lb)	T
TEMPERATURE (exact degrees)
^oC	Celsius	1.8C+32	Fahrenheit	^oF
ILLUMINATION
lx	lux	0.0929	foot-candles	fc
cd/m²	candela/m²	0.2919	foot-Lamberts	fl
FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS
N	newtons	0.225	poundforce	lbf
kPa	kilopascals	0.145	poundforce per square inch	lbf/in²

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