Faculty :

Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Department :
Department of Infrastructure and Geomatic Engineering
Title :
SPOT SPEED STUDY
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Speed is the rate of movement of a vehicle, generally expressed in kilometers per hour.
A spot speed study is a study of traffic speed at one point or spot on a traffic way. It
consists of a series or a sample of observations of the individual speeds at which vehicles
are approaching an intersection or passing a point at a non-intersection location. These
observations are used to estimate the speed distribution of the entire traffic stream at that
location, under the conditions prevailing at the time of the study.
Spot speed studies can be used to study speeds at problem locations in order to determine
whether speeds are too high and if complaints received are justified, for accident analysis in
order to determine the relationship of speed to accidents which may help in developing
corrective measures, and for before-and-after studies in order to evaluate the effect of some
change in controls or conditions.

2.0 OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this study are:
(a) To determine the speed characteristics of traffic at the study location.
(b) To determine the compliance of drivers to the speed limit.

Faculty :
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department :
Department of Infrastructure and Geomatic Engineering
Title :
SPOT SPEED STUDY
3.0 APPARATUS
1.
2.
3.
4.

Radar Gun
Forms SS1 and SS2
Graph Paper (3 nos)
Safety Vest

4.0 PROCEDURE
1. Identify the spot at which the speed data will be collected.
2. Use the radar gun to measure the speed of vehicles according to their respective vehicle
class Class 1 (Motorcycles), Class 2 (Cars), Class 3 (Vans & Medium Trucks), and
Class 4 (Large Trucks & Buses).
[Make sure that the operator of the radar gun is not seen by the motorists]
3. Record all speed measurements in Form SS1.
4. Based on Form SS1, determine the mean, maximum and minimum speed of vehicles
according to their class. Comment on your findings.
5. Transfer the data in Form SS1 to Form SS2.
6. Plot the following:
(a) Frequency Histogram (Percentage of vehicles vs. Speed)
(b) Frequency Distribution Curve (Percentage of vehicles vs. Speed)
(c) Cumulative Frequency Distribution Curve (Cumulative percentage vs. Speed)
7. Determine the following speed characteristics:
(a) Mean speed
(b) Median speed
(c) Mode speed
(d) 85-th Percentile speed
(e) Standard deviation
(f) Pace
8. Comment on your findings.
9. Does your findings justify the problem of speeding at the location? If it does, what are
your recommendations?

Faculty :
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department :
Department of Infrastructure and Geomatic Engineering
Title :
SPOT SPEED STUDY
5.0 DATA ANALYSIS & RESULTS
Form SS1
Location : ____________________________________________________________
Date:___________________ Time:
_____________Weather:
_______
Spot Speed (km/h)
Vehicle Class
3

Time
1

Faculty :
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department :
Department of Infrastructure and Geomatic Engineering
Title :
SPOT SPEED STUDY
Form SS2
Speed Class
(km/h)

Class
Midvalue, x
(km/h)

Class
Frequency, f

fx

Percentage
in Class

Cumulative
Percentage

Formulae
Mean speed = fx
n
f = frequency of observations in the particular class
x = mid-point of each class
n = total number of observations = f
n _fL
2
fm x C
Median speed = L +
L = lower limit of the class in which the median lies
n = total number of observations
f L = cumulative number of observation up to the lower limit of the class in which
the median lies
f m = number of observations in the class in which the median lies
C = speed interval of the group

Faculty :
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department :
Department of Infrastructure and Geomatic Engineering
Title :
SPOT SPEED STUDY
Standard Deviation =

fx 2
(fx)2

n 1
n(n 1)

f = frequency of observations in the particular class

x = mid-point of each class
n = total number of observations = f
Terminology
Pace = the 10 km/h range in speed in which the highest number of observation was
recorded
85th Percentile speed = the speed at or below which 85 percent of the motorists drive on a
given road unaffected by slower traffic or poor weather
Calculations & Results:
1. Class 1 (Motorcycles)
Mean speed
:
Maximum speed:
Minimum speed :

km/h
km/h
km/h

Class 2 (Cars)
Mean speed
:
Maximum speed:
Minimum speed :

km/h
km/h
km/h

Class 3 (Vans & Medium Trucks)

Mean speed
:
Maximum speed:
Minimum speed :

km/h
km/h
km/h
5

Class 4 (Heavy Trucks & Buses)

Mean speed
:
Maximum speed:
Minimum speed :

km/h
km/h
km/h

All Vehicle Types

Mean speed
:
Maximum speed:
Minimum speed :

km/h
km/h
km/h

Comment :

Faculty :
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department :
Department of Infrastructure and Geomatic Engineering
Title :
SPOT SPEED STUDY
2.
a)

Median Speed =

b)

Mean Speed =

c)

Mode Speed =

d)

Standard Deviation =

e)

85th Percentile Speed =

f)

Pace =

Faculty :
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department :
Department of Infrastructure and Geomatic Engineering
Title :
SPOT SPEED STUDY
Comment :

6.0 DISCUSSION

7.0 CONCLUSION