Establishing and Managing Jurisdiction-wide Traffic Monitoring Systems: North American Experiences

With the rapid motorization process in China, an increasingly complicated highway transportation system has been developed. Reliable national and provincial traffic monitoring systems are becoming necessary. A review of experiences from developed countries in North America can be helpful for highway administrations and agencies to design and implement effective and efficient traffic monitoring systems. Highway agencies in North America have over time developed “standard” traffic monitoring systems based on guidelines from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The common practices are adopted based on the analysis of system accuracy, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. The common practices can produce equivalent and comparable traffic summary statistics, which are able to support sensible decision-makings of all aspects of highway transportation. The experiences of highway agencies, current practices, and related guidelines in North America are therefore presented at first. The principles for guiding development and operation of traffic data programs are then summarized and reviewed. The existing problems and active research for traffic monitoring practices and standards are also identified and discussed. It is believed that the reviewed experiences, guidelines, and principles will be helpful for China to establish effective and common-practice based “standard” traffic monitoring systems.