page_title: Traffic count
section_title: Traffic counter devices
hierarchical_section_title: Traffic count / Traffic counter devices
caption_attribution_description: English: MetroCount traffic counter system using inductive loops connected to a cabinet with solar panels and 3g modem to transmit traffic information.
context_page_description: A traffic count is a count of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, which is conducted along a particular road, path, or intersection. A traffic count is commonly undertaken either automatically, or manually by observers who visually count and record traffic on a hand-held electronic device or tally sheet. Traffic counts can be used by local councils to identify which routes are used most, and to either improve that road or provide an alternative if there is an excessive amount of traffic. Also, some geography fieldwork involves a traffic count. Traffic counts provide the source data used to calculate the Annual Average Daily Traffic, which is the common indicator used to represent traffic volume. Traffic counts are useful for comparing two or more roads, and can also be used alongside other methods to find out where the central business district of a settlement is located. Traffic counts that include speeds are used in speed limit enforcement efforts, highlighting peak speeding periods to optimise speed camera use and educational efforts.
context_section_description: A traffic counter is a device, often electronic in nature, used to count, classify, and/or measure the speed of vehicular traffic passing along a given roadway. The device is usually deployed in near proximity to the roadway and uses an on-road medium, such as pneumatic road tubes laid across the roadway, piezo-electric sensors embedded in the roadway, inductive loops cut into the roadway, or a combination of these to detect the passing vehicles. Pneumatic road tubes are generally used for temporary studies to study a sample of traffic, while piezo-electric sensors and inductive loops are used for permanent studies which can ascertain seasonal traffic trends and are often used in congestion monitoring on major roads. One of the first traffic counting units, called traffic recorders, was introduced in 1937, operated off a strip laid across the street, and used a six volt battery. Each hour it printed off a paper strip with the total for that hour. Recently, off-road technologies have been developed. These devices generally use some sort of transmitted energy such as radar waves or infrared beams to detect vehicles passing over the roadway. These methods are generally employed where vehicle speeds and volume are required without classification which require on-road sensors.
caption: Traffic counter system using inductive loops connected to a cabinet with solar panels and 3g modem to transmit traffic information.
exif: {}