Review of Traffic and Highway Engineering, Fourth Edition, by Nicholas J. Garber and Lester A. Hoel: CENGAGE Learning, Toronto ON, Canada; 2009; 1,230 pp. Price: $160.

The fourth edition of the popular book on traffic and highway engineering by Nicholas Garber and Lester Hoel has been released. The authors maintain the five core parts of the previous edition, namely:

However, many notable and timely additions have been included that highlight the recent evolution of transportation during the seven years since the third edition was released.

The book begins with an excellent overview of transportation, written in a conversational style that can be enjoyed by all readers, regardless of their background and interest. Of particular note is the expanded section on the history of transportation and the evolution of America’s highways. Significant historical landmarks, ranging from the Lancaster Turnpike toll road in 1794 and the introduction of the bicycle in 1886, to the 21st-century development of information technology and hybrid vehicles in transportation, are presented and discussed. Even the most uninterested reader’s attention will be captured by the excellent presentation and the notable contribution that transportation has made over the years. The addition of several historic photos, obtained from the Library of Congress, provides a finishing polish to this section.

Safe and efficient operation of transportation systems has never been more important than it is today. In part two of the book, the authors highlight this importance and present the concept of traffic operations through eight appropriately defined chapters. Although an expanded section on human factors concepts may have enhanced this section, the authors do appropriately define the characteristics of drivers and pedestrians, and add timely discussions on older driver and bicyclist characteristics. The chapter on highway safety has been appropriately expanded to include the burgeoning areas and rapid knowledge gain in this topic. I particularly appreciated the expanded discussion on the statistical procedures used in transportation safety data analysis, including a fundamental presentation on the Empirical Bayes methodology commonly used by safety researchers. The authors effectively provide sufficient detail to capture the readers’ interest and understanding, but avoid a statistical documentary that may detract from the beginner’s understanding of this important issue.

I also found the presentation of shock waves in traffic flow extremely well done. For those who have taught introductory transportation courses, the concept of shock waves is perhaps the most difficult concepts for students to grasp. The authors effectively describe shock wave theory, yet present the concept in an elementary but complete way showing how shock waves and queue lengths can be used to make important operational decisions on highway corridors and at signalized intersections. The subsequent discussion on traffic signal warrants and basic traffic signal design provides sufficient detail for the introductory reader to understand how traffic signals are timed and operated. With any book that references and uses key components of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, or the Highway Capacity Manual, the challenge is the dynamic nature of these publications. For example, the new edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, expected in 2009, will add a ninth traffic signal warrant and will have numerous other changes that will not be captured in this edition. Authors do adequately provide the readers with references to these publications.

The third part of this book, focused on transportation planning, is well written and relatively consistent with the previous edition. Core elements of transportation planning, including the basic four-step methods of travel demand forecasting, provide the structure of this presentation. Authors add introductory sections on estimating freight demand and traffic impact studies, which are welcome and timely additions to the discussion. Other topics such as basic travel forecasting and economic analysis of transportation alternatives are presented in a concise yet meaningful way. A chapter in the previous edition that focused on Transportation Systems Management was removed and appropriately blended throughout the book, consistent with the ubiquitous nature of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), other advanced system technologies, and collaboration with professionals from many different disciplines common to traffic and highway engineering today.

The fourth part of the book focuses on the fundamental aspects of geometric design of transportation facilities, aligning closely to the key elements of a popular American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) publication titled A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets. The core elements of route alignment and survey, horizontal and vertical alignment, and drainage are covered in a comprehensive yet easy-to-comprehend format. This part of the book ends with a brief reference to economic analysis of drainage facilities. No economic theory or quantitative methods are provided; however, the reader can refer to an overview of engineering economic analysis as part of the transportation planning process of evaluating transportation alternatives covered in a previous chapter of the book.

The final part of the book focuses on material and pavement types used in transportation. Sufficient information is provided to support readers with significant interest in the topics of soil and material properties and pavement design. Furthermore, the topics presented can support other references commonly used for study in these topical areas. The authors appropriately conclude this final part of the book with a discussion on optimization methods and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) systems commonly used as part of asset management systems today.

Overall, the fourth edition of Garber and Hoel’s book maintains its position as a staple in the literature for introductory transportation engineering education. Many new problems have been added at the end of each chapter for students to practice the core concepts covered. As the authors correctly highlight, transportation is a fast-moving field, and this book successfully reflects the many new methods, procedures, and technologies recently introduced to the profession. This new edition further expands on the complexities of the transportation system and the importance of introducing these complexities to the next generation of transportation professionals.

One of the challenges in writing an introductory transportation engineering book is the decision on what not to include. The authors have consciously decided to focus on one primary mode of transportation with practice-based emphasis and add considerable depth to the material. Other introductory transportation engineering books have taken the approach of covering all modes of transportation and many of the tertiary elements with limited depth, under the assumption that a broader array of topics would be of interest to readers and students with specific interest in transportation, as well as others who may only be interested in an introduction to the topic. The author’s decision to stay true to the core area of traffic and highway engineering is the pedagogical success of this book.

There is no better book available that covers the core areas of traffic and highway engineering. The lack of expanded sections of topics such as safety, mass transit, freight, economics, and systems engineering may be seen as a weakness; nevertheless, this book is ideal for any course focused on introducing students from any background to the fundamentals of transportation engineering.