TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION

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 CHAPTER

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

======================================
The word “traffic” originated from Greco-Roman word “trafico”
which refers to the movement of people that dates back from the dawn
of history from the domesticated horse-drawn wheels to horseless
carriage. The Greek originally called the system “Trafriga” after the
early horse-drawn chariots with spoke wheels. Another source of the
word “traffic” was from the famous “Trafalgar Square,” the hub-
center of commerce and culture in the heart of London. In Latin, the
word traffic is denominated as “Commercium.”

What is Traffic Management?

Traffic management is a term used to embody the activities

undertaken by the land transportation of the government, purposely to
improve roadway system safety, efficiency, and effectiveness for both
providers and consumers of transportation services. It presupposes an
understanding of the motivation behind the behavior of motorists,
commuters, and pedestrians, and any attempt to redirect their behavior
without understanding them will not be able to effectively solve the
traffic problems.

What is Traffic on Road?

Traffic on road mayconsist of pedestrians, ridden or herded

animals, motor vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly
or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel.

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What is Traffic Laws?

Traffic laws are the laws which govern traffic and regulate vehicles,
while rules of the road are both the laws and the informal rules that
may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly and timely flow
of traffic.

Legal Bases in Traffic Management

The two (2) legal bases in traffic management are:

1. Republic Act No. 4136, otherwise known as “The Land

Transportation Code of the Philippines, as Amended.”

2. Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as “An Act Providing

for a Local Government Code of 1991.”

What is Traffic Congestion?

Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as

use increases, characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and
increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the
physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough
that the interaction between vehicles slows the speed of the traffic
stream, congestion takes place.

Theories of Traffic Congestion

The common theories of traffic congestion are as follows:

1. Mathematical Theory.Some traffic engineers have attempted to

apply the rules of fluid dynamics to traffic flow, likening it to the flow
of a fluid in a pipe. Congestion simulations and real-time observations
have shown that in heavy but free flowing traffic, jams can arise

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spontaneously, triggered by minor events, “butterfly-effects," such as
an abrupt steering maneuver by a single motorist. Traffic scientists
liken such a situation to the sudden freezing of super-cool fluid.

2. Economic Theory.Congested roads can be seen as an example

of the tragedy of the commons. Because roads in most places are free at
the point of usage, there is little financial incentive for drivers not to
over-use them, up to the point where traffic collapses into a jam, when
demand becomes limited by opportunity cost. Privatization of
highways and road pricing had both been proposed as measures that
may reduce congestion through economic incentives and disincentives.

Specific Causes of Traffic Congestion

The following are the specific causes of traffic congestion:

1. Immediate Cause.Congestion grows at an alarming rate

primarily in areas experiencing rapid population growth. This causes
parallel increase in the ownership and use of automotive vehicles. The
country is listed as one of the high-growth motor vehicle markets
among the ASEAN countries.

2. Long-Term Cause.Commuting during certain hours add

considerably to traffic congestion. The so-called “rush-hours” are
concentrated in relatively short period each day, mainly from 7:00 to
9:00 in the morning and from 5:00 to 7:00 in the evening, when most
people using motor vehicles of any kind, either private or public.

Strategies in Resolving Congestion

Here are strategies in resolving traffic congestion:

1. Supply-Side Strategy.Expansion of the peak-hour carrying

capacity of an area’s transportation system seems to be the most
intuitively obvious response to greater congestion, and can be
implemented through diverse means such as building more roads or
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widening existing ones in areas that have experienced rapid growth and
making transportation systems more efficient. This can also be made
through flyovers, sky-ways, and detour roads, hand-in-hand with the
implementation of counter-flows, and “U-Turn” slots.

2. Demand-Side Strategy.One of the demand-side tactics

transportation economist advocate is peak-hour pricing. This is
achieved by charging all drivers who use crowded highways during
peak-hours a toll large enough to discourage many from doing
so.Another demand-side strategy is shifting peak-hour trips to other
times of the day. This may be achieved by staggering work hours
among different organizations, adopting flexi-time policies or even
reducing of workdays to four-day work per week.

Measures in Traffic Congestion

Here are some measures that can be applied in traffic congestion:

1. Road Infrastructure Development or Improvement.This

involves junction improvement, grade separation, using bridges or less
often, tunnels, freeing movements from having to stop for other
crossing movements, ramp signaling, “drip-feeding,” merging traffic
via traffic signals onto a congested motorway-type roadway, reducing
junctions or local-express lanes, providing thru lanes that bypass
junction on-ramp and off-ramp zones, limited-access road, limiting
types and amounts of driveways, and reversible lanes.

2. Urban Planning and Design.City planning and urban design

practices can have a huge impact on levels of future traffic congestion,
though they are of limited relevance for short-term change, and that is,
grid plans including fused grid road network geometry, rather than tree-
like network topology which branches into “cul-de-sacs or deadlock,”
which reduce local traffic, but increase total distances driven. It
discourages walking by reducing connectivity. This avoids
concentration of traffic on a small number of arterial roads and allows
more trips to be made without a car.

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 3. Supply and Demand.Congestion can be reduced by either
increasing road capacity or supply, or by reducing traffic or demand.
Capacity can be increased in a number of ways, but needs to take
account of latent demand, otherwise it may be used more strongly than
anticipated. Critics of the approach of adding capacity have compared it
to "fighting obesity by letting out the belt." Reducing road capacity has,
in turn, been attacked as removing free choice as well as increasing
travel costs and time, and considered crucial factor of supply and
demand in traffic management.

Mitigation of Traffic Congestion

Here are some of the measures to mitigate the traffic congestion:

1. Rush Hour Policies. Some cities adopt policies to reduce rush-

hour traffic and pollution and encourage the use of public
transportation. The day for each vehicle to take a rest is taken from the
license plate number, and this rule is enforced by traffic police and by
hundreds of strategically positioned traffic cameras backed by
computerized image-recognition systems that issue tickets to offending
drivers.

2. Pre-Emption Policies.In some areas, emergency responders are

provided with specialized equipment which allows emergency response
vehicles to have high-priority travel by having the lights along their
route change to green. The technology behind this method has evolved
from panels at the fire department to optical systems. In other areas,
public transport buses have special equipment to get green lights as
soon as they approach an intersection.

3. Intelligent Transportation Systems.ITS presents a number of

technologies to reduce congestion by monitoring traffic flows through
the use of sensors and live cameras, analyzing cellular phone data
travelling in cars and in turn rerouting traffic as needed through the use
of Variable Message Boards (VMS), highway advisory radio, on board
or off board navigation devices and other systems through integration
of traffic data with navigation systems.
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 CHAPTER

TRAFFIC ENGINEERING

======================================
Forecasting future traffic and evaluating the magnitude of street
hazards through traffic engineering is easier said than done. Taking the
prevailing attitudes and atmosphere of public’s impatience towards the
strange-shaped of geometrical road design is more than meets the eye.

What is Traffic Engineering?

Traffic engineeringis that phase of the general field of engineering

which deals with the planning of streets, roads, highways, and the
movement of traffic units in terms of safer, convenient, and economic
transportation of persons and goods. It is also the science of: (1)
planning, deciding, and operating traffic system to achieve safe and
efficient transportation, (2) the study of basic laws relative to the traffic
laws and generations, and(3) measuring traffic and travel.

Types of Traffic Control Devices

There are three kinds of traffic control devices:

1. Regulatory Devices. These are having the authority of law

impose precise requirements upon the action of road users.

2. Guiding Devices.These are employed simply to inform the road

user of route, destination, and other pertinent information.

3. Warning Devices.These are used to inform the road user of

potentially hazardous roadway condition or unusual traffic movement.
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What is Traffic Signal?
A traffic signal is defined as a signal operated manually, electrically
or mechanically by which traffic is alternately commanded to stop or to
proceed. The primary purposes of signal control relatively with traffic
management are the following: (1) to minimize traffic conflicts and
time delay, (2) to reduce vehicular accident, and (3) to economize the
employment of man-power.

Classifications of Traffic Signs

Traffic signs are classified, as follows:

1. Regulatory Signs. These are intended to warn road users of

special obligations, restrictions or prohibition with which they must
comply.

2. Informative Signs.These are intended to guide road users while

travelling, such as directional signs, and advance signs, etc.

3. Danger Warning Signs. These are intended to warn road users

of a danger that lies ahead and of its nature.

What is Geometric Design?

Geometric design is a traffic engineering phraseology for

forecasting future traffic demand on target year for road design and
construction. It is used as an indicator dictated by development of land
use, industry, economy, population components, and use of motor
vehicles.

Road Classifications

Roads are classified according to the following:

1. Political Subdivision
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 a. National Road. It is the main road as conduit system with right-
of-way from 20 meters to 120 meters.

b. Provincial Road.It is the linkage between two municipalities

with right- of-way of 15 meters.

c. City Roads. It is the inner link between municipalities and

within city proper with right of way of 15 meters.

d. Municipal Roads. These are all roads within the town proper
with right of way of not less than 10 meters.

e. Barangay Roads. These are commonly called farm-to-market

road or the so called feeder roads, with right-of-way of not less than 2
meters.

2. According to Functions

a. Feeder Road. This is intended to be used by the farmers in the

delivery of their goods into the marketplace, it is simply called “farm-
to-market road.”

b. Local Collector Road.This is intended to collect traffic from

feeder road to municipal road.

c. Major Collection Road. This is intended as major arteries to

collect inter-locality traffic to provincial road.

d. Major Highways. These serve as main artery that caters to big

volumes of vehicular traffic on national roadways.

e. Tunnel Road. This isa passage of wide section cut through a

hill or sea to shorten circuitous roadway.

f. Subway. It is an underground conduit running entirely under the

ground for fast travel route of commuters.

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 g. Skyway. This is a modern urban system of roadway above street
level for free flow of traffic.

h. Expressway. This is a thoroughfare intended for the free flow of

vehicular movement.

3. Topographical Terrains

These include flat road, zigzag road, steep-hill climbing road,

down-hill road, winding road, mountainous road, roller-coaster road,
and zig-zag roads. Examplesare the Kennon Road and Dalton Pass in
the North, and other similar roads in the South.

Avenue vs. Boulevard

Many are confused about the difference between an avenue and a
boulevard. It is internationally accepted that both are national roads and
are broad thoroughfares. Avenue is usually a thoroughfare running at
right angles to the streets on grid patterns, while boulevardis more
prestigious in sophistication than an avenue. The latter is teeming with
grassplots and trees along the center, the sidewalks are well lighted. It
is for this reason that these are named after great men and heroes.

What is a Sidewalk?

A sidewalk is an integral part of the roadway in any metropolitan

cities of the world, and it is one of the species of geometric design.
Sidewalk is the answer for the safety of pedestrians in the world of road
hazards. Thus, sidewalk reduces the hazards of pedestrian, and thus can
be considered a slender yardstick of traffic engineering.

What is Intersection?

An intersection is a road junction where two or more roads either

meet or cross at a grade or they are at the same level. An intersection
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may be 3-way, a T-junction or fork; 4-way, a crossroads; or 5-way or
more, depending on the number of road segments or arms that come
together at the intersection. It may often be controlled by traffic lights,
and may be a roundabout or traffic circle. In the local setting, it is being
called as “rotunda or circle.”

Different Types of Intersection

The different types of intersection are as follows:

1. Three-Way Intersection. It is a junction between three road

segments-arms, a T-junction-two arms form one road, or Y-junction.

2. Four-Way Intersection. This is the most common because it

usually involves a crossing over of two streets or roads. In areas where
there are blocks and in some other cases, the crossing streets or roads
are perpendicular to each other.

3. Five-Way intersection. This is less common but still exists,

especially in urban areas with non-rectangular blocks.

4. Six-Way Intersection. This usually involves a crossing of three

streets at one junction; for example, a crossing of two perpendicular
streets and diagonal streets is a rather common type of six-way
intersection.

Classifications of Intersection

Another way of classifying intersection is by traffic control such as:

1. Uncontrolled Intersection. This is without signs or signals but

sometimes with warning signs. Priority rules may vary: on four-way
intersection, traffic from the right often has priority; and on three-way
intersection either traffic from the right, or the continuous passing
vehicle has the priority.

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 2. Signal-Controlled Intersection.This is dependent on traffic
signals, usually electric, which indicate which traffic is allowed to
proceed at any particular time.

3. Traffic Circle. This is a type of intersection at which traffic

streams are directed around a circle. The types of traffic circles
include roundabouts, mini-roundabouts, rotaries, stop-controlled
circles, and signal-controlled circles.

4. Box Junction. It is generally prohibiting entry to the

intersection unless an exit is clear.

5. Yield-Controlled Intersection. This may or may not have

specific "yield" signs, known as "give way" signs in some countries.

6. Stop-Controlled Intersection. This is an intersection with one

or more "stop" signs. Two-way stops are common, while some
countries also employ four-way stops.

What is Channelization?

Channelization is traffic engineering terminology that separates, or

regulates the conflict of traffic movements into definite paths of travel
by means of traffic islands or pavement markings for the safe and
orderly travels of both man and machine.

Lane Filter vs. Lane Splitting

Lane filter literally means to control or constrict the movement of

vehicle as it passes through the designated lane. This traffic engineering
design is meant to prevent traffic gridlock at the intersection when
turning left at the green arrow filter signal, as indicated in the traffic
lights installed in intersections. Lane splitting refers to two motor
vehicles moving between lanes that are proceeding in the same
direction. This is usually indicted by a demarcation lines, painted at the
center of the roadway.
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 CHAPTER

TRAFFIC EDUCATION

======================================
The traffic law enforcement agencies also strive to educate the
public about traffic safety. Although traffic education is not their
primary responsibility, they often participate in the programs of public
and private safety organizations. Traffic education not only prevents
loss of lives and properties but also has high police-community
relations value.

What is Traffic Education?

Traffic education is the crowning jewel of traffic management, an

abstract architect of social life, and an unyielding master of man’s
destiny on the roadways. As one of the 3E’s of traffic management, it is
a priceless gem in a total gamut of social order on the road, likened to
an oasis in a desert of roadways.

Points to Consider in Traffic Education

The following points need to be kept in mind, and to be followed.

1. Do not indulge in speeding or overtaking.This is another

contributory important factor in today’s road accidents. The ideal speed
for a bike would be 42-45 km/hr., considering the country’s traffic
conditions. As far as possible, avoid overtaking. In case it is necessary
it should be done from the left of motor vehicle as overtaking from the
right are proven to be dangerous.

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 2. Follow traffic signs.Traffic rules play a great role in inculcating
a sense of traffic in the minds of the drivers. Unfortunately, in the local
setting, more stress is given on how to drive the vehicle rather than on
how to behave on the road while driving. Training on understanding
traffic rules is a mere one-day session done before the actual driving
which nobody takes seriously. Hence, awareness on the basic traffic
rules and regulations is one of the key needs of the hour.

3. Give signals when changing lanes.Giving signals to fellow

drivers and to pedestrians when turning to a right or left lane is a sign
of good road ethics. The drivers must always indicate his or her
intention to change lanes by giving signal with the use of hand or with
the head lights.

4. Do not squeeze vehicles through traffic.It is often seen that

some motorists squeeze their way through traffic, especially at traffic
signals, thus changing the course of their vehicle at intersections. This
habit of winding one’s way through traffic confuses other commuters.
It also reflects improper road ethics and should be avoided.

5. Do not blow horn incessantly.It is not prudent to keep blowing

the horn if not necessary as it distracts the fellow commuters and
can even make them feel irritated.

6. Leave the sidewalks pavements for pedestrians.Using

sidewalks pavements in order to go faster should be avoided at all costs
as pavements are for pedestrians and should be used only for walking.

7. Observe proper parking habits. Proper parking of vehicle is

equally important to avoid inconvenience to fellow-commuters and to
leave sufficient parking space for others.

8. Check condition of vehicles.Check the condition of the vehicle

before going for a drive. Make sure that petrol tanks are filled, brakes
are functioning well, tires are well-inflated, etc. Use the right kind of
petrol for the motor vehicle with less/no kerosene mixed in it. Clean the
carburetor once in a while and service the vehicle at regular interval to
reduce air and noise pollution.

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 9. Use helmet or seatbelts.Puttingon helmets when driving two-
wheel vehicle, and strapping on seatbelts when riding four-wheeler is
for the safety and protection of the motorists. In many places in the
country, it has been made compulsory for two-wheeler drivers to wear
helmets.

10. Avoid drunk driving.Driving in a drunken state is another major

reason for road accidents. It reflects a total lack of concern for road
ethics and the basic values of humanity. Drunken driving has assumed
huge importance especially after recent episodes of alcoholic person
mowing down people and causing injury to several others. The
permissible level of alcohol in the blood during driving is 30 ml. Any
level above this threshold proves to be dangerous to self and others.

11. Encourage vehicle pooling.Check out if vehicle pooling or

sharing rides is possible. This would reduce traffic congestion, need for
petrol, and brings in advantages to other road users.

Does Traffic Education Answer Everything?

The question whether behaviors can be changed or taught by means

of traffic education is still to be answered. How far do the effects of
education reach?

1. Learning mainly from one’s experiences.The primary

limitation of traffic education is the relatively short period of formal
lessons. An effective traffic education is a mixture of formal instruction
and one's own experience, similar to playing a musical instrument.

2. Errors continue to occur accidentally. Traffic education is

sometimes seen as the solution to all road safety problems. Traffic
education is a good measure for errors due to gaps in knowledge,
insight, or skills. However, the cause of errors can also lie in the
complexity of the task or the road layout not being suited for the task.

3. Some people make more errors than others.Some people will

always make more mistakes than others despite training. Traffic
15
education can still play a vital part but not in trying to improve
performing the task. It is especially suitable for showing these people
their limitations and to stimulate them in avoiding getting into the
situations that are dangerous to them.

4. Not everyone is motivated.It is assumed that people will

actually apply their knowledge and skills in relation to safe traffic
behavior and that there is a striving for safe behavior. There is no need
to expect that traffic education, on its own, will be sufficiently useful in
this type of situation.

Principles of Selective Traffic Education

The principles of selective traffic education should be exploited to

its full extent. Analysis of traffic accident statistics revealed certain
groups of people who appear to be accident prone and who are
involved in more than their share of such accidents. With this type of
information, as well as data concerning the types of accidents and
violations which are most prevalent, the traffic education effort can be
oriented toward specific remedies.

EndProducts of Traffic Education

Road courtesy and road civility as keys to safety are the

endproducts of traffic education. The word courtesy and civility, as it
connotes, characterizes a manner of social intercourse designed to
please or at least not to give offense. It implies proper observance of
customary action among people, and the kind of politeness which is
evidenced by strict adherence to a code of ethics.

The anatomy of road discourtesy is worth dissecting. While there

are many flaws and failures in the system of traffic governance, these
are not grave enough to justify vacillation or to give vent to frustration.
Road courtesy and road civility are invincible commonalities wanting
of supply in the traffic market today.

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 CHAPTER

TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT

======================================
Traffic enforcement, the most frequent contact between police and
otherwise law-abiding citizens, is a critical responsibility of police
officers. Its principal objectives are to obtain, through voluntary
citizens’ compliance, the smoothness possible movement of vehicles
and pedestrian consistent with safety and to reduce accidents.

What is Traffic Enforcement?

Traffic enforcement is an action taken by the police and other

authorized agencies which induces voluntary compliance and compels
adherence to traffic laws and ordinances by regulating the movement of
motor vehicles along the highway for the purpose of creating a
deterrent to all potential violators of traffic laws, rules and regulations.

Activities in Traffic Enforcement

Following are the activities in traffic enforcement:

1. Preventive Activities.Traffic law enforcers on patrol plough

through major thoroughfares and attend to traffic accidents and
problems.

2. Persuasive Activities.They consist of oral, written, or verbal

warnings of visible traffic officers on traffic enforcement with the aim
of persuading lawful obedience by the public.

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 3. Punitive Activities.The traffic law enforcers ensure that the
violators of traffic laws are given sanctions. These are done through the
issuance of citation or physical arrest.

Steps in Traffic Enforcement

Here are the essential steps in the traffic law enforcement activities,
as follows:

1. Detection.This is wholly a traffic law enforcer’s responsibility

and entails looking for the defects in the behavior of motorists,
pedestrians, vehicles, equipment, and roadway condition. However,
detection requires knowledge of law on the part of the traffic law
enforcers.

2. Apprehension. This is wholly a traffic law enforcer’s

responsibility where the traffic law enforcers are required to take action
at once to prevent continued and future violations.

3. Prosecution.While this is a court function, the traffic law

enforcers also provide corresponding influence through preparation and
introduction of evidence or by close contact with the prosecuting
officer.

4. Adjudication. While this is obviously a court function, the

traffic law enforcers provide influence on this step by acting as witness
to the prosecution or supplying additional evidence. This step
determines the guilt or innocence of the respondents.

5. Penalization. The court imposes the penalty upon the

respondents. The penalty is greatly influenced by previous records of
conviction as provided by the traffic law enforcers.

Kinds of Traffic Enforcement Action

Here are the different kinds of traffic enforcement action:

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 1. Traffic Arrest. It is an enforcement action which consists of
taking the person into custody for the purpose of holding or detaining
him or her to answer for a law violation charge before a court. Arrest is
made when (a) the offense committed is serious; (b) detention, if
necessary to avoid continued violations; (c) or there is reasonable doubt
that the violator will voluntarily appear in court.

2. Traffic Citation. It is a means of having violators appear in

court without physical arrest. The issuance facilitation is the most
common enforcement action by the police. This is an efficient system,
since majority of violators with minor offenses are punished
immediately by paying fines to an administrative body without having
to appear in court.

3. Traffic Warning.It is an enforcement action which does not

contemplate possible assessment of penalty by the court, or otherwise
as a result of a warning alone made by the traffic law enforcers. There
are three kinds of traffic warning: (a) visual warning, (b) verbal
warning, and (c) written warning.

What is Traffic Supervision?

Traffic supervision is defined as keeping informed on streets and

highways within existing regulations to make their use safe and
expeditious. This also involves safe and efficient movement of traffic
on the streets, roads, and highways.

What is Traffic Direction?

Traffic direction is that part of police traffic supervision that
involves telling drivers and pedestrians who, how, and where they may
or may not move or stand at a particular place, especially during
periods of congestions and emergencies. Normally, directing traffic is
needed at accident scenes, emergencies, planned special events, regular
point and intersection control, and directing pedestrian movements.
What is Traffic Control?
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 The control of motor vehicles, pedestrian or other traffic units at a
certain point or area by mechanical means, fixed objects or manpower
is called traffic control. It can also be broadly thought of as facilitating
the safe and efficient movement of motor vehicles, pedestrians, and
other traffic units in hazardous conditions or special circumstances.
This aims to eliminate traffic congestion and address hazard-producing
traffic and vehicular accidents.

Traffic Enforcement Index

Traffic enforcement indexis a conviction with penalty for hazardous

moving violators per motor vehicle traffic accident resulting in injury
and death. If the number of accidents at a particular location is high in
comparison to other locations, the number of citations should also be
high.

Formula:

TEI = HMV
FIA
Where:

TEI = Traffic Enforcement Index

HMV = Hazardous Moving Violators
FIA = Fatal Injury Accidents

Example:

= 100
5
TEI = 20

Experience has shown that the optimum of Traffic Enforcement

Index (TEI) is near 20. Traffic law enforcers should maintain a TEI of
around 20. Generally, the number of accidents at any given location

20
will tend to decrease as enforcement action increases. This has already
been proven in accident prone areas.

Violations in Traffic Enforcement

Violations in traffic law enforcement are as follows:

1. Document Violations. Arethose violations where the drivers

who are stopped by the traffic law enforcement officers do not have all
the documents in order or kept by the driver. Typically, violations cited
are for unregistered motor vehicles, expired registration, and driving
without license. Most of the time, citations are issued to the driver can
be cleared by paying fine and by producing and presenting the
appropriate documents to the concerned authorities.

2. Equipment Violations.Are things that are found wrong with the

motor vehicle, and these are bald tires, burnt out lights, broken
windshields, and leaky mufflers are all good examples. Each of these is
considered equipment violation. If the motor vehicle is so unsafe as to
represent a hazard to others, it may be impounded on the spot or order
the driver of the said motor vehicle to take it directly to a repair facility.

3. Moving Violations. Include violation of the rules of the road

committed by the driver. Besides driving under the influence of alcohol
or drugs, there are eight principal accident-causing moving violations.
These are over speeding, failure to yield to right of way, tail-gaiting,
improper turning, driving on center lines, failure to heed stop signals,
improper passing, and disregarding signals.

What is Traffic Enforcement Camera?

A traffic enforcement camera is an automated ticketing machine. It

includes a camera which may be mounted beside or over a highway or
installed in an enforcement vehicle to detect traffic regulation
violations, including speeding, vehicles going through a red traffic
light, and for recording vehicles inside a congestion charge area.
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 CHAPTER

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION

======================================
Successful accident investigation requires considerable basic
background knowledge. To know what questions to ask and what to
look for, the traffic accident investigator must have some fundamental
ideas about accidents and their classes.

What is a Traffic Accident?

A traffic accident is that occurrence in a sequence of events which

usually produces unintended injury, death, or property damage. A
traffic accident is classified not according to the damaging occurrence,
but by the first of certain events which occurs on the road, including the
shoulders. There are two main kinds, error of commission or where a
person does a thing that he should not have done; and error of omission
or where a person does not do something he should have done.

Classes of Traffic Accident

The different classes of traffic accident are enumerated below:

1. Motor Vehicle Traffic Accident.It is any motor-vehicle

accident occurring on a traffic way; for example, the ordinary collision
between motor vehicles on a highway.

2. Motor-Vehicle Non-Traffic Accident.It is any motor vehicle

accident which occurs entirely in any place other than a traffic-way; for

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example, a motor vehicle accident in agricultural place or in a private
driveway.

3. Non-Motor Vehicle Traffic Accident.It is any accident

occurring on a traffic-way involving persons using the traffic-way for
travel or transportation but not involving a motor-vehicle in motion; for
example, collision between a pedestrian and bicyclist on a sidewalk.

What is a Motor Vehicle?

As provided by R.A. No. 4136, entitled “The Land Transportation

and Traffic Code of the Philippines,” as amended, a motor vehicle is
every device which is self-propelled and every vehicle which is
propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but
not operated upon rails.

What is a Traffic-Way?

The traffic wayis the entire width between boundary lines of every
way or place of which any part is open to the public for purposes of
vehicular traffic as a matter of right or customs.

Chain of Events in a Traffic Accident

The following are the chain of events in a traffic accident:

1. Perception of Hazard. This refers to the seeing, feeling, or

hearing and understanding the unusual or unexpected movement or
condition that could be taken as a sign that an accident is about to
happen.

2. Encroachment. This refers to the movement into the path

assigned to other traffic unit. Perhaps the most important encroachment
is crossing a center or barrier line.

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 3. Start of Evasive Action. It is the first action taken by a traffic
unit to escape from a collision course, or avoid a hazard. This is the
“reaction” of the driver to his perception and is the end of driver
reaction time.

4. Initial Contact.It is the first accidental touching of colliding

objects in motion. Before this, there is no force seen between the
objects colliding, but afterwards there is force applied. Usually, it will
establish the exact place of the collision of the traffic units.

5. Maximum Engagement. It is the greatest collapse or overlap in

a collision. The force between objects colliding is greatest at its
maximum engagement.

6. Disengagement.This refers to the separation of a traffic unit in

motion from an object with which it has collided. Force between the
objects ceases at this time.

7. Stopping. This is coming to rest. It usually stabilizes

theaccident situation. Stopping may occur with or without control by
the driver or pedestrian.

What is a Key Event?

A key eventis an event on the road which characterizes the manner

of occurrence of a motor-vehicle traffic accident. It determines the
exact time, place, and type of accident. It is whichever of these three
events occurs first: running off the road, non-collision on the road, and
collision on the road.

What is a Crucial Event?

Crucial eventis used instead of the key event to characterize what

occurred to each traffic unit individually rather than to the whole
accident and with reference to the available path rather than the entire
road. There are five kinds of crucial events: (1) leaving the available
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path not the same as running off the road, (2) collision with non-traffic
object in or adjacent to the path, (3) collision with other traffic units in
the path, (4) turning over in the path without collision, and (5) other
non-collision in the path.

Noteworthy Points in Traffic Accident

The following are the noteworthy points in traffic accident:

1. Point of Possible Perception.It is the place and time at which

the unusual or the unexpected movement or condition could have been
perceived by a normal person. This point always comes at or before the
point of perception. Perception time is the time between the point of
possible perception and the actual perception. If the hazard is actually
perceived as nearly as possible, perception is said to be prompt.

2. Point of No Escape. It is the place and time, after or beyond

which the accident cannot be prevented by the traffic unit. Nothing the
driver or pedestrian can do to save him from this point, although he can
still mitigate the accident. For example, the driver can slow down
before a collision. Sometimes the point of no escape and the point of
perception are the same.

3. Point of Impact.The point of impact or POI is a term which,

although widely used in connection with traffic accident does not seem
to have a very precise meaning. Impact, generally means the same thing
as collision, but it also means the force involved. Point of impact is
sometimes used to mean the same point of initial contact, point of
maximum engagement, or the center of force.

Classifications of Accidents by Severity

Here are the major classifications of accidents:

1. Property Damage Accident. It is any motor vehicle accidents in

which there is no injury to any person but only damage to the motor
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vehicle, to other motor vehicles, or to other property including injury to
animals.

2. Non-Fatal Accident.It is any motor vehicle accident that results

in injuries other than fatal to one or more persons. The injury may be
non-visible, minor-visible, and seriously visible.

3. Fatal Accident. It is any motor vehicle accident that results in

fatal injuries to one or more persons.

Definition of Attributes

An attribute is any inherent characteristic of a traffic-way, a

vehicle, or a person making a trip on a traffic-way that affects the
probability of traffic accidents. This is present in varying degrees. Thus
friction characteristics of the road surface and the drag factors are not
always the same, but differ from place to place and from time to time.
It is unnecessary to refer to a specific motor vehicle accident to
describe an attribute.

Traffic Accident Reconstruction

Traffic Accident Reconstruction (TAR) is a science in its own right,

requiring training and experience. It has been greatly enhanced by the
use of computer programs that assist in the reconstruction, called
Computer-Assisted Reconstruction System (CARS). Other software
programs available that offer good help in reconstruction include the
Traffic Accident Analysis and Reconstruction (TAAR) and the
Computer Assisted Accident Investigation (CAAI).

TAR is highly technical and suggests that reconstructions have

legal and ethical responsibility to help prepare the prosecution in the
litigation of the case. Other authorities in the field describe a program
for traffic accident reconstruction for Windows users, i.e., Accident
Reconstruction for Windows (ARW), as one of the best written for
windows to date.
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 CHAPTER

HIT AND RUN INVESTIGATION

======================================
Hit and run investigation is not the same as accident investigation.
It is considered as a special form of criminal investigation. The most
important requirement in this kind of investigation is to locate the
missing driver. Most of the steps done here are not taken in all accident
cases. The accident investigator has to look for clues at the scene, such
as parts of the missing vehicle which may help connect the vehicle to
the accident

What is Hit-and-Run?

Hit-and-runis a term commonly applied to any traffic accident in

which a driver fails to comply with any of the laws regarding stopping,
giving aid, and revealing his identity. However, the words hit-and-run
are not used in laws and ordinances. “Evading responsibility” is a much
better term because a driver can stop after an accident and then go
without giving aid to the victim if needed or avoid identifying himself.

Hit-and-Run vs. Accident Investigation

Accident investigation has its purpose of discovery and recording

the circumstances of an accident. Hit-and-run investigation aims to find
the driver who evaded responsibility and bring him before justice. The
latter is really a criminal investigation arising from an accident. Usually
if an accident is being investigated, the investigator has to also make
inquiry regarding evasion of responsibility.

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 It is possible to have a hit-and-run investigation start with an
accident which is reported but never actually investigated. The urgency
of serious hit-and-run investigation may hinder completion of an
accident investigation. It is just as important to find the cause of a hit–
and-run accident as it is to find those of any other traffic accident.

Evading responsibility is a serious traffic law violation, but it is not

the cause of any accident. Thus, in most hit-and-run cases, there are
two kinds of investigations, accident and the other, non-accident. Both
are important. The two investigations have quite different purposes, but
the investigator has to do them, more or less, together.

Investigation as Part of Law Enforcement

Strictly speaking, hit-and-run investigations are part of traffic law

enforcement, rather than a part of accident investigation. Yet hit-and-
run investigations are quite different from ordinary traffic law
enforcement and they always occur in connection with an accident.
Therefore it must be discussed in connection with investigation rather
than with other phases of police traffic law enforcement.

Hit-and-run investigations are important police work, especially

when the accident involves death, physical injury or property damage.
It presents unusual challenge to the investigator and the police
organization as a whole. Furthermore, as a result of apprehending hit-
and-run drivers, their victims have a chance to get compensation for
death, physical injuries, and losses.

Attention must be devoted in identifying and locating the driver

and the motor vehicle involved. Do not forget that there are many ways
of evading responsibilities in connection with traffic accidents, even
though the driver stopped after collision. If an accident investigation
will be conducted, it is important to find evidence of any evasion of
legal responsibility.
Activities in Hit-and-Run Investigation

The important activities in hit-and-run investigation are as follows:

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 1. Make certain that the accident is hit-and-run.Someone may have
reported that the driver has disappeared. At the scene, find out the
veracity of the report or a lot of time and effort may be wasted. It is the
responsibility of the investigator, and no other persons at the scene to
find out whether the driver is really trying to evade the responsibility or
not. The driver may have left the scene without “running away.” The
latter could have identified himself to someone before leaving, or may
have taken an injured person to the hospital, and intends to return later.

2. Establish the description of the motor vehicle.The investigator

usually looks for the following: color of the motor vehicle, license plate
number, auto make, model and year (CLAMMY). This is important and
very useful, but ordinarily, the most helpful kind of information at first
is odd or unusual details about the motor vehicle. Some examples of
such details are broken or cracked windows, dual exhaust, odd
windshield stickers, squired tails attached to an antenna, thing carried
on the vehicle, body or fender dents, or an unusual color or amount of
dirt on the car.

3. Check the reliability of witness statements.The investigator

should check the reliability of witnesses and verify their statements,
making the information specific and accurate as possible. Colors for
example, mean different things to different people. One witness may
call a vehicle red, while another witness may describe it as pink or
maroon. The best way to find out what the witness means is to have
him show you what color he has on mind. Colors are very easy to be
mistaken at night. Almost any dark colored car seen at night may be
mistaken for black.

4. Ascertain the direction of the motor vehicle.This is most helpful

in rural areas. Often this information can be taken by questioning
victims or witnesses, examining tire prints or skid-marks, noticing
debris strewn along the way, or by examining point marks on fixed
objects and the positions of struck pedestrians or motor vehicles. To
follow the direction of travel, other evidence such as dropped-off parts,
tire prints or even the motor vehicle itself, which may not have been
able to travel far because of damage, may be found.

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 5. Collect broken parts of the motor vehicle.These are often the
most useful evidence of all. Not only do they help find the vehicles by
giving a clue to a particular make and model of the motor vehicle, and
they may be used to connect a suspected motor vehicle to the accident.
Examples of broke-off parts often found at hit-and-run locations are
door handles, bumpers, horns, hub caps, exhaust pipes, and radiator
ornaments. The investigator collects and preserves these parts so that
when the suspected motor vehicle is located, these can be compared to
repaired or replaced areas on it.

6. Preserve paint samples of the motor vehicle.The investigator

carefully preserves any paint samples collected. Some colors are
peculiar to certain makes and models. Experienced motor repair shop
may be able to give information. Paint samples can be found in the
clothing of struck pedestrian, but more often paint is scraped off on
struck objects, especially on other motor vehicles. Sometimes paint
chips or smears are on the roadway at the scene. He compares paint
samples with scratches and marks on suspected motor vehicle to
connect the motor vehicle to the hit-and-run accident.

7. Checking suspicious person at the scene.Sometimes hit-and-run

driver returns to the scene to find out how much evidence the
investigator has collected or simply out of curiosity. Suspects are any
person who seems out of place in the neighborhood and asks a lot of
questions, especially questions not ordinarily asked by bystanders.
Some things done to get clues to the identity of the driver or motor
vehicle may also give clues as to what happened in the accident.
Remember that while searching for clues at the scene, hit-and-run
investigation can be made simultaneously.

Important Evidence in Hit-and-Run Cases

The important pieces of evidences in hit-and-run cases are:

1. Debris. It is the accumulation of rubbish left at the accident
scene. Usually the vehicles are shaken off from the force of the
collision like samples of mud, tar, dirt, and the like. These are then
30
compared with similar kinds of materials found on suspected motor
vehicle.

2. Objects.Theseare carried in a hit-and-run vehicle that provides

excellent clues which may lead to the motor vehicle or the
driver.Examples are clothing with identifiable laundry marks,
salesman’s samples bearing the name of a business concern, and letter
heads or notebooks.

3. Damages.Damages onfixed objects may give an idea of the

amount of damage to the missing motor vehicle or the parts of the
motor vehicles that are damaged. Tire prints may be helpful in telling
the kind of vehicle. Dual tire marks, or very large one, usually mean
that a truck or bus was involved.

4. Prints.These fingerprints and footprints are sometimes left by a

driver who stops, looks the scene over, and continues on without
identifying himself or rendering aid. Fingerprints can rarely be used in
locating a person, but may help identify the driver. The investigator
makes sure to protect and match them with those of the suspects.

Proving Driving in Hit-and-Run Cases

In only a few cases that the investigator knows for certain that the
owner of a motor vehicle involved in the accident is the man he is
looking for. When the suspected driver of the motor vehicle involved in
traffic accident is approached, the following essential elements of
information must be established: (1) who was driving the motor vehicle
at the time of the traffic accident, (2) the motor vehicle he was driving
was the one involved in the traffic accident, (3) he knew, or should
have known, that he was involved in a traffic accident, and (4) he
evaded some legal responsibility arising out of the said traffic
accident.Remember, information provided by witnesses and physical
evidence are all important in proving driving in hit and run cases.

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