AN OBJECTIVE APPROACH TO TRAFFIC SIGNALS
THE PROFESSIONAL CRITERIA AND THE PROCEDURES WHICH MUST BE FOLLOWED WHEN ANALYZING THE NEED FOR A PROPOSED TRAFFIC SIGNAL IN NEW JERSEY ARE EXPLAINED AND ILLUSTRATED. THE MOTOR VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC REGULATIONS OF NEW JERSEY ARE BRIEFLY REVIEWED. THE MANUAL ON 'UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES FOR STREETS AND HIGHWAYS' PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS SETS FORTH STANDARDS FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES THAT COULD BE USED THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. THE STANDARDS USED TO EVALUATE TRAFFIC CONDITIONS AT AN INTERSECTION FOR WHICH A SIGNAL HAD BEEN REQUESTED ARE: (1) MINIMUM VEHICULAR VOLUME, (2) INTERRUPTION OF CONTINOUS TRAFFIC, (3) MINIMUM PEDESTRIAN VOLUME, (4) PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT, (5) ACCIDENT EXPERIENCE, AND (6) COMBINATION OF WARRANTS. THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING PROFESSION IS THAT TRAFFIC SIGNALS OFFER THE FOLLOWING ADVANTAGES: (1) THEY PROVIDE FOR ORDERLY MOVEMENT OF TRAFFIC, (2) THEY REDUCE THE FREQUENCY OF CERTAIN TYPES OF ACCIDENTS, (3) THEY CAN BE CO-ORDINATED TO PROVIDE NEARBY CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT OF TRAFFIC AT A DEFINITE SPEED ALONG A GIVEN ROUTE, AND (4) THEY CAN BE USED TO INTERRUPT HEAVY TRAFFIC AT INTERVALS TO PERMIT OTHER TRAFFIC TO CROSS. TWO MAJOR REASONS WHY THE DEPARTMENT DOES NOT GRANT EVERY REQUEST FOR A TRAFFIC SIGNAL AREA: (1) A TRAFFIC SIGNAL CAN ONLY FUNCTION BY STOPPING TRAFFIC, AND IT IS AXIOMATIC THAT ANY TIME A MOTOR VEHICLE IS STOPPED ON THE TRAVEL PORTION OF A HIGHWAY AN ACCIDENT POTENTIAL IS CREATED, (2) MOTORISTS EXPERIENCE AGGRAVATION WHEN WAITING IN A LONG LINE OF CARS FOR A TRAFFIC SIGNAL TO CHANGE, THUS CREATING THE ACCIDENT POTENTIAL. A SIGNAL IN THE WRONG LOCATION CAN CAUSE ACCIDENTS, OR IT CAN CAUSE CONGESTION, OR BOTH. ONE OF THE ARTS OF THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING PROFESSION IS TO FIND THE POINT WHERE A SIGNAL WILL RELIEVE MORE CONGESTION THAT IT WILL CREATE.
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Supplemental Notes:
- 41 Pp, 5 FiG, 3 APP
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Corporate Authors:
New Jersey Department of Transportation
1035 Parkway Avenue
Trenton, NJ United States 08625 - Publication Date: 1966-6
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Highway operations; Intersections; Laws; Motor vehicles; Pedestrians; Prevention; Safety; Standards; Traffic; Traffic congestion; Traffic control devices; Traffic engineering; Traffic regulations; Traffic signals; Traffic volume
- Uncontrolled Terms: Traffic laws
- Old TRIS Terms: Motor vehicle laws & regulations
- Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00225521
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Sep 22 1994 12:00AM