Automatic Speed Calibration Methodology for Traffic Monitoring Sites
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 1
Abstract
Traffic monitoring sites are installed in highways to collect speed, volume, and classification data to support various planning and intelligent transportation system applications. There is minimal research that addresses speed accuracy and methods to evaluate it without manually collecting vehicle speed data. Accurate speeds are important because the measured speed is used to calculate axle spacing distances and determine the vehicle classification. If the speed measurements are not accurate, the axle spacing distances may not conform to expected values making it difficult to classify the vehicle. This paper identifies values for the drive tandem axle spacing on Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) Scheme F Class 9 vehicles based on truck-manufacturer sales data. A relationship between the drive tandem axle spacing and speed calibration accuracy is verified by collecting and analyzing data from two weigh-in-motion (WIM) sites in Indiana. Based on this relationship, a traffic monitoring lane can be automatically calibrated by looking at historical drive tandem axle spacing measurements. This metric was utilized by the Indiana DOT to identify WIM lanes that required recalibration.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the University of South Carolina, the Joint Transportation Research Program administered by the Indiana DOT, and Purdue University. The contents of this paper reflect the views of the writers, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein, and do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the FHwA and the Indiana DOT, nor do the contents constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 1 • January 2006
Pages: 30 - 39
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 23, 2004
Accepted: May 31, 2005
Published online: Jan 1, 2006
Published in print: Jan 2006
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