TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
Lecture 4 – Design Controls and Criteria – Sight Distance
Dr. Muhammad Abdullah
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Management and Technology
Sight Distance
• A driver’s ability to see ahead is needed for safe and
efficient operation of a vehicle on a highway.
• Sight distance is the length of the roadway ahead that
is visible to the driver.
• The designer should provide sight distance of sufficient
length that drivers can control the operation of their
vehicles to avoid striking an unexpected object in the
traveled way.
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Sight Distance
• The sight distances needed for stopping, which are
applicable on all highways;
• The sight distances needed for the passing of overtaken
vehicles, applicable only on two-lane highways;
• The sight distances needed for decisions at complex
locations; and
• The sight distances needed at intersections.
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Stopping Sight Distance
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Stopping Sight Distance
• The available sight distance on a roadway should be
sufficiently long to enable a vehicle traveling at or near
the design speed to stop before reaching a stationary
object in its path.
• Although greater lengths of visible roadway are desirable,
the sight distance at every point along a roadway should
be at least that needed for a below-average driver or
vehicle to stop.
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Stopping Sight Distance
• Stopping sight distance is the sum of two distances:
• Brake reaction distance: the distance traversed by the vehicle
from the instant the driver sights an object necessitating a stop to
the instant the brakes are applied, and
• Braking distance: the distance needed to stop the vehicle from
the instant brake application begins.
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Stopping Sight Distance – Brake Reaction Time
• Brake reaction time is the interval from the instant that the driver
recognizes the existence of an obstacle on the roadway ahead that
necessitates braking until the instant that the driver actually applies
the brakes.
• A 2.5 seconds brake reaction time is recommended for stopping
sight situations as it encompasses the capabilities of most drivers,
including those of older drivers and exceeds the 90th percentile of
reaction time for all drivers.
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Stopping Sight Distance – Braking Distance
• The approximate braking distance of a vehicle on a level roadway traveling at
the design speed of the roadway may be determined from the following
equation:
• 3.4 m/s2 [11.2 ft/s2] (a comfortable deceleration for approximately 90% of all drivers) is
recommended as the deceleration threshold for determining stopping sight distance. Such
decelerations are within the driver’s capability to stay within their lane and maintain steering
control during the braking maneuver on wet surfaces.
• Although literature shows that most drivers decelerate at a rate greater than 4.5 m/s2 [14.8 ft/s2] when
confronted with the need to stop for an unexpected object in the roadway.)
Friction and braking systems available these days can provide higher braking decelerations. 8
Stopping Sight Distance
• The stopping sight distance is the sum of the distance traversed during the
brake reaction time and the distance to brake the vehicle to a stop.
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Stopping Sight Distance
• The computed distances for various speeds at the assumed conditions on level
roadways are shown in the table
When traffic is traversing the
grade in both directions:
• As a general rule, the sight
distance available on
downgrades is larger than on
upgrades, more or less
automatically providing the
appropriate corrections for
grade.
• Therefore, many designers do
not adjust stopping sight
distance because of grade.
• Exceptions are one-way
roadways or streets, as on
divided highways with
independent profiles.
• For these separate roadways,
adjustments for grade may be
needed.
For wet-pavement conditions
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Stopping Sight Distance
• Example: Consider a section of rural freeway with a
design speed of 70 mi/h. On a section of level terrain,
what safe stopping distance must be provided? AASHTO
standard reaction time = 2.5 s.
• Example: What can happen if a section of this roadway
provides a sight distance of only 500 ft?
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Stopping Sight Distance – Effect of Grade
The stopping distances needed on upgrades are shorter than on level
roadways; those on downgrades are longer.
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Stopping Sight Distance – Effect of Grade
• The stopping sight distances for various grades are shown in the table:
Stopping sight distances
exceeding those shown in
the table should be used as
the basis for design
wherever practical.
New pavements should
have initially, and should
retain, friction coefficients
consistent with the
deceleration rates used to
develop the table.
Use of longer stopping
sight distances increases
the margin for error for all
drivers, especially for those
operating at or near design
For wet-pavement conditions speeds during wet
pavement conditions.
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Stopping Sight Distance – Variation for Trucks
• The recommended stopping sight distances are based on
passenger car operation and do not explicitly consider design for
truck operation.
• Trucks as a whole, especially the larger and heavier units, need longer
stopping distances for a given speed than passenger vehicles.
• Since, the truck driver is able to see substantially farther beyond
vertical sight obstructions because of the higher position of the seat
in the vehicle, separate stopping sight distances for trucks and
passenger cars are not generally used in highway design.
For more details: Page 3-6, AASHTO Green Book, 6th Edition 14
Decision Sight Distance
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Decision Sight Distance
• Stopping sight distances are usually sufficient to allow reasonably
competent and alert drivers to come to a hurried stop under ordinary
circumstances.
• However, greater distances may be needed where drivers must
make complex or instantaneous decisions, where information is
difficult to perceive, or when unexpected or unusual maneuvers
are needed.
• Limiting sight distances to those needed for stopping may preclude
drivers from performing evasive maneuvers, which often involve less
risk and are otherwise preferable to stopping.
The values of decision sight distance are substantially
greater than stopping sight distance.
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Decision Sight Distance
Decision sight distance is the distance needed for a
driver to detect an unexpected or otherwise difficult
to perceive information source or condition in a
roadway environment that may be visually cluttered,
recognize the condition or its potential threat, select
an appropriate speed and path, and initiate and
complete complex maneuvers.
Decision sight distances are currently computed using empirical data. 17
Decision Sight Distance
• Examples of critical locations where it is desirable to
provide decision sight distance include:
• interchange and intersection locations where unusual or unexpected
maneuvers are needed,
• changes in cross section such as toll plazas and lane drops, and
• areas of concentrated demand where there is apt to be “visual noise”
from competing sources of information, such as roadway elements,
traffic, traffic control devices, and advertising signs.
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Decision Sight Distance
• The decision sight distances vary depending on whether the location
is on a rural or urban road and on the type of avoidance maneuver
needed to negotiate the location properly.
If it is not practical to provide decision sight distance because of horizontal or vertical
curvature or if relocation of decision points is not practical, special attention should be
given to the use of suitable traffic control devices for providing advance warning of the
conditions that are likely to be encountered.
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Decision Sight Distance
• The decision sight distance is found by using total
stopping distance equation by replacing the reaction time
for stopping maneuvers with the appropriate collision
avoidance reaction time for the situation.
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Decision Sight Distance
• The decision sight distances for avoidance maneuvers A and B are determined as:
The pre-maneuver time is greater than the brake reaction time for stopping sight distance to allow
the driver additional time to detect and recognize the roadway or traffic situation, identify
alternative maneuvers, and initiate a response at critical locations on the highway.
The pre-maneuver component of decision sight distance uses a value ranging between 3.0
and 9.1 seconds.
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Decision Sight Distance
• The decision sight distances for avoidance maneuvers A and B are determined as:
Here, pre-maneuver time is used instead of brake reaction time.
It is greater than the brake reaction time for stopping sight distance to allow the driver additional
time to detect and recognize the roadway or traffic situation, identify alternative maneuvers, and
initiate a response at critical locations on the highway.
The pre-maneuver component of decision sight distance uses a value ranging between 3.0
and 9.1 seconds.
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Decision Sight Distance
• The decision sight distances for avoidance maneuvers C, D, and E are
determined as:
The braking component is replaced in avoidance maneuvers C, D, and E with a maneuver
distance based on maneuver times, between 3.5 and 4.5 s, that decrease with increasing
speed.
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Decision Sight Distance
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Decision Sight Distance
• Example: Consider the decision sight distance required
or a freeway section with a 60 mi/h design speed
approaching a busy urban interchange with many
competing information sources. The approach is on a 3%
downgrade. For this case, AASHTO suggests a reaction
time up to 14.5 s to allow for complex path and speed
changes in response to conditions.
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Passing Sight Distance
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Passing Sight Distance for Two-Lane Highways
• Most roads and many streets are two-lane, two-way highways on
which vehicles frequently overtake slower moving vehicles.
• Passing maneuvers in which faster vehicles move ahead of slower
vehicles are accomplished on lanes regularly used by opposing traffic.
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Passing Sight Distance for Two-Lane Highways
• The passing driver should be able to see a sufficient distance ahead,
clear of traffic, so the passing driver can decide whether to initiate
and to complete the passing maneuver without cutting off the passed
vehicle before meeting an opposing vehicle that appears during the
maneuver.
An alternative to providing passing sight distance is “Passing Lanes.” 28
Passing Sight Distance for Two-Lane Highways
• The passing maneuver can be broken down into four discrete steps
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Passing Sight Distance for Two-Lane Highways
• The passing maneuver can be broken down into four discrete steps
• d1 – distance traversed during perception and reaction time and during
the initial acceleration to the point of encroachment on the left lane
• d2 – distance travelled while the passing vehicle occupies the left lane
• d3 – distance between the passing vehicle at the end of its maneuver and
the opposing vehicle
• d4 – distance traversed by an opposing vehicle for two-thirds of the time
the passing vehicle occupies the left lane, or two-thirds of d2 above
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Passing Sight Distance for Two-Lane Highways
• Minimum passing sight distances for design of two-lane highways incorporate certain assumptions
about driver behavior. For more details: Page 3-12, AASHTO Green Book, 6th Edition.
An alternative to providing passing sight distance is “Passing Lanes.” 31
Passing Sight Distance for Two-Lane Highways
• It is apparent from the following comparison that more sight distance is
needed to accommodate passing maneuvers on a two-lane highway than for
stopping sight distance that is provided continuously along the highway.
An alternative to providing passing sight distance is “Passing Lanes.” 32
Passing Sight Distance for Two-Lane Highways
Multiple Passings
• The passing sight distance for use in design should be based
on a single passenger vehicle passing a single passenger
vehicle.
• While there may be occasions to consider multiple passings,
where two or more vehicles pass or are passed, it is not practical
to assume such conditions in developing minimum design
criteria.
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Passing Sight Distance for Two-Lane Highways
Trucks
• Research has shown that longer sight distances are often needed
for passing maneuvers when the passed vehicle, the passing
vehicle, or both are trucks.
• Longer sight distances occur in design, and such locations
can accommodate an occasional multiple passing maneuver
or a passing maneuver involving a truck.
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Passing Sight Distance for Multilane Highways
• There is no need to consider passing sight distance on
highways or streets that have two or more traffic lanes in
each direction of travel.
• Passing maneuvers on multilane roadways are expected
to occur within the limits of the traveled way for each
direction of travel.
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Criteria for Measuring Sight
Distance
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Criteria for Measuring Sight Distance
• Sight distance is the distance along a roadway throughout
which an object of specified height is continuously visible
to the driver.
• This distance is dependent on the height of the driver’s
eye above the road surface, the specified object height
above the road surface, and the height and lateral
position of sight obstructions within the driver’s line of
sight.
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Criteria for Measuring Sight Distance
• Height of Driver’s Eye:
• For all sight distance calculations for passenger vehicles, the height of the
driver’s eye is considered to be 1.08 m [3.50 ft] above the road surface.
• Height of Object:
• For stopping sight distance and decision sight distance calculations, the
height of object is considered to be 0.60 m [2.00 ft] above the road surface.
• For passing sight distance calculations, the height of object is considered to
be 1.08 m [3.50 ft] above the road surface.
• Sight Obstructions:
• Will be discussed in the horizontal and vertical alignment design.
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THANKS
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