Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents the literature and studies which came from

various sources and with which the researchers have reviewed for the

enrichment and enhancement of the study.

Vehicle populations grew rapidly in developing countries while

wealthy nations saw little change. The world vehicle population increased

an estimated 4.6% in 2016 from the previous year, with much of the

growth coming from soaring demand in China. The global vehicle

population stood at 1.32 billion cars and trucks at the end of 2016,

nearly double the volume 20 years prior when vehicles-in-operation

totaled 670 million in 1996. Coincidently, the fleet grew at about the

same pace in the 20 years through 1996 by roughly doubling 1976’s 342

million. (Petit, 2017)

A car accident, also referred to as a “traffic collision,” or a “motor

vehicle accident,” occurs when a motor vehicle strikes or collides another

vehicle, a stationary object, a pedestrian, or an animal. While some car

accidents result only in property damage, others result in severe injuries

or death. There are many factors that can contribute to car accidents,
and sometimes such accidents have legal consequences. (Champlin et

al., 2015)

TRAFFIC RULES

A study that is titled “Awareness and obeyance of road traffic rules

among motorists in Mangaluru suburbs, India”. According to the study,

it was conducted to assess the awareness and obeyance of road traffic

rules among commuters in South Mangaluru suburbs. The findings of

this study revealed that more than half of the respondents had

insufficient awareness about road traffic rules and more than three

fourth of the respondents had bad obeyance of road traffic rules. In this

study all the respondents had driving license and this is because all the

respondents were commuters and above the legal age (18 years). This

finding was consistent in the result found in study from Saudi Arabia.6

In this study we found that half of the respondents (51.1%) were

students and it could be because of the study area, where there are three

universities and four medical institutions. In this study it was reported

that majority of the respondents were aware about the documents

required while driving. Similar results were found in the study from

India, where it reported that 66% of the respondents were aware about

the documents to be carried.7 In this study it was reported that majority

of the respondents (67.8%) were aware about the traffic signal colors

which was consistent in findings found in the study from India, which

reported that the majority of the respondents (63.5%) were aware about

traffic signal colors after the intervention.8 In this present study, we

found that majority of the respondents had insufficient awareness

regarding road traffic rules and regulations; similar results were found

from study done in India where it reported that the majority of the

respondents (55%) gave incorrect answers. (Shetty et al., 2017)

In the Philippines, Metro Manila is considered as the traffic

violation capital of Southeast Asia. Two main reasons: lack of discipline

and lack of information. Hopefully, our incoming President can help

address that first bit, but the second one? It's going to take more than a

few fines and citations to correct.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Emerson Carlos

believes that the solution can be found in the Philippine educational

system. Specifically, Carlos thinks traffic education should begin as early

as high school, before young drivers apply for a student driver's permit.

"Kailangan siguro, mag-insert na ng traffic education sa curriculum

natin," he said. "Hindi para sa grade school kundi para sa high school.

Kasi yun ang tamang age. Ito ang panahon na gustong-gusto nilang

matutong mag-drive. Between the ages of 14 and 16, yung level na yan
dapat siguro tayo mayroong traffic education, which should be

mandatory. Hindi kung sino lang may gusto ng traffic education." We

have to agree with him. Seeing Filipinos disregard basic road signs and

markings is like watching a blind person walk right into a minefield. The

worst part is that many of us don't learn specific rules until we're being

written a violation ticket--or worse, when we're already in a hospital

room.

Carlos added that the government had already tried in the past to

implement traffic education in grade school, but the efforts failed to bear

fruit. According to him, this was as far back as two administrations ago

when a module was presented to the Department of Education. (Laurel,

2016)

According to the Philippine Information Agency, a forum was held

in April 30, 2018 to create a doable agreement and commitment to

prevent vehicular traffic incidents along the Manila North Road

traversing the provinces in Ilocos region. Chief Superintendent Romulo L.

Sapitula, the regional director of Police Regional Office 1 (PRO 1),

initiated the conduct of the regional road safety summit in collaboration

with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the

members of the Technical Working Group (TWG) on prevention of

vehicular traffic incidents. “We realized this summit to gather all

concerned sectors in the region for the making of the holistic approaches

to address the problem on vehicular traffic incidents particularly on

vehicular accidents and vehicles stoning incidents,” said Sapitula.

Expected to attend the summit are at least 155 representatives from the

local transport groups and motorcycle clubs, concerned local government

units (LGUs) along the Manila North Road, traffic aides/auxiliaries’ group

and bus owners and managers. The provincial government of La Union

headed by Governor Francisco Emmanuel “Pacoy” R. Ortega III will host

the summit, which is set at the Diego Silang Hall of the provincial

capitol, with Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, the chairperson of the

Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC), as the keynote speaker.

Among the topics during the forum are the traffic rules and

regulations; the franchising of vehicles; situationers of the Manila North

Road including road obstructions and signage of construction, road

safety tips (displinadong driver) and the vehicular traffic incidents data

from 2015 to present. Although the trend on the occurrence of vehicular

traffic incidents in the region was decreasing from 2015 to 2017,

Sapitula said that the occurrence of vehicular traffic incidents in the

Ilocos region remain alarming due to many deaths it caused. The

recorded vehicular traffic incidents in Region 1 in 2015 was 15,442 while

13,802 in 2017. The vehicular traffic incidents represented almost 50

percent of the annual crime volume in the Ilocos region. From 2015 to

2017, the Region 1 police office had recorded at least 1,400 fatalities due

to vehicular accident. The latest tragic vehicular accident in Region 1

happened in Barangay San Jose Sur, Agoo, La Union on December 25,

2017, that resulted to the death of 20 persons and injuring at least 15

individuals. “We are also intensifying our monitoring operations along

the Manila North Road to arrest those residents involved in vehicles

stoning incident, which was rampant in the past few months,” Sapitula

added.

Based on initial findings, the causes of vehicular traffic incident in

Region 1 are over speeding; traffic illiteracy; reckless driving; poor vehicle

condition; poor road condition; driving while under the influence of

liquor; use of bicycles and tractors and other agricultural machineries in

the highways; and road obstruction due to unmanned/abandoned

barricades of highways; use of highways for drying palay or corn, abused

use of streets during festivities and road works and repairs.

“After the summit, we will formulate a memorandum of agreement or

commitment from the stakeholders and concerned sectors that will look

for solutions to the problem on vehicular traffic accidents, and will

ensure road safety and security,” he added. (Lazaro, 2018)

FACTORS AFFECTING TRANSPORTATION

The success of transportation engineering depends upon the co-

ordination between the three primary elements, namely the vehicles, the

roadways, and the road users. Their characteristics affect the

performance of the transportation system and the transportation

engineer should have fairly good understanding about them. This

chapter elaborated salient human, vehicle, and road factors affecting

transportation.

Human factors affecting transportation

Road users can be defined as drivers, passengers, pedestrians etc. who

use the streets and highways. Together, they form the most complex

element of the traffic system - the human element - which differentiates

Transportation Engineering from all other engineering fields. It is said to

be the most complex factor as the human performances varies from

individual to individual. Thus, the transportation engineer should deal

with a variety of road user characteristics. For example, a traffic signal

timed to permit an average pedestrian to cross the street safely may

cause a severe hazard to an elderly person. Thus, the design

considerations should safely and efficiently accommodate the elderly

persons, the children, the handicapped, the slow and speedy, and the

good and bad drivers.

 Variability

The most complex problem while dealing human characteristics is its

variability. The human characteristics like ability to react to a situation,

vision and hearing, and other physical and psychological factors vary

from person to person and depends on age, fatigue, nature of stimuli,

presence of drugs/alcohol etc. The influence of all these factors and the

corresponding variability cannot be accounted when a facility is

designed.

 Visual acuity and driving

The perception-reaction time depends greatly on the effectiveness of

driver’s vision in perceiving the objects and traffic control measures. The

PIEV time will be decreased if the vision is clear and accurate. Visual

acuity relates to the field of clearest vision. The most acute vision is

within a cone of 3 to 5 degrees, fairly clear vision within 10 to 12 degrees

and the peripheral vision will be within 120 to 180 degrees. This is

important when traffic signs and signals are placed, but other factors

like dynamic visual acuity, depth perception etc. should also be

considered for accurate design. Glare vision and color vision are also

equally important. Glare vision is greatly affected by age. Glare recovery

time is the time required to recover from the effect of glare after the light

source is passed, and will be higher for elderly persons. Color vision is

important as it can come into picture in case of sign and signal

recognition.

 Other Characteristics

Hearing is required for detecting sounds, but lack of hearing acuity can

be compensated by usage of hearing aids. Lot of experiments were

carried out to test the drive vigilance which is the ability of a drive to

discern environmental signs over a prolonged period. The results showed

that the drivers who did not undergo any type of fatiguing conditions

performed significantly better than those who were subjected to fatiguing

conditions. But the mental fatigue is more dangerous than skill fatigue.

The variability of attitude of drivers with respect to age, sex, knowledge

and skill in driving etc. are also important.

Vehicle factors

It is important to know about the vehicle characteristics because we can

design road for any vehicle but not for an indefinite one. The road should

be such that it should cater to the needs of existing and anticipated

vehicles. Some of the vehicle factors that affect transportation is

discussed below.

 Design vehicles

Highway systems accommodate a wide variety of sizes and types of

vehicles, from smallest compact passenger cars to the largest double and

triple tractor-trailer combinations. According to the different geometric

features of highways like the lane width, lane widening on curves,

minimum curb and corner radius, clearance heights etc some standard

physical dimensions for the vehicles has been recommended. Road

authorities are forced to impose limits on vehicular characteristics

mainly:

 to provide practical limits for road designers to work to,

 to see that the road space and geometry is available to normal

vehicles,

 to implement traffic control effectively and efficiently,

 take care of other road users also.

Taking the above points into consideration, in general, the vehicles can

be grouped into motorized two wheeler's, motorized three wheeler's,

passenger car, bus, single axle trucks, multi axle trucks, truck trailer

combinations, and slow non-motorized vehicles.

 Vehicle dimensions

The vehicular dimensions which can affect the road and traffic design are

mainly: width, height, length, rear overhang, and ground clearance. The

width of vehicle affects the width of lanes, shoulders and parking facility.

The capacity of the road will also decrease if the width exceeds the design

values. The height of the vehicle affects the clearance height of structures

like over-bridges, under-bridges and electric and other service lines and

also placing of signs and signals. Another important factor is the length

of the vehicle which affects the extra width of pavement, minimum

turning radius, safe overtaking distance, capacity and the parking

facility. The rear overhang control is mainly important when the vehicle

takes a right/left turn from a stationary point. The ground clearance of

vehicle comes into picture while designing ramps and property access

and as bottoming out on a crest can stop a vehicle from moving under its

own pulling power.

 Weight, axle configuration etc.

The weight of the vehicle is a major consideration during the design of

pavements both flexible and rigid. The weight of the vehicle is transferred
to the pavement through the axles and so the design parameters are

fixed on the basis of the number of axles. The power to weight ratio is a

measure of the ease with which a vehicle can move. It determines the

operating efficiency of vehicles on the road. The ratio is more important

for heavy vehicles. The power to weight ratio is the major criteria which

determines the length to which a positive gradient can be permitted

taking into consideration the case of heavy vehicles.

 Visibility

The visibility of the driver is influenced by the vehicular dimensions. As

far as forward visibility is concerned, the dimension of the vehicle and

the slope and curvature of wind screens, windscreen wipers, door pillars,

etc should be such that:

 visibility is clear even in bad weather conditions like fog, ice, and

rain;

 it should not mask the pedestrians, cyclists or other vehicles;

 during intersection maneuvers.

Equally important is the side and rear visibility when maneuvering

especially at intersections when the driver adjusts his speed in order to

merge or cross a traffic stream. Rear vision efficiency can be achieved by

properly positioning the internal or external mirrors.

Braking performance

As far as highway safety is concerned, the braking performance and

deceleration characteristics of vehicles are of prime importance. The time

and distance taken to stop the vehicle is very important as far as the

design of various traffic facilities are concerned. The factors on which the

braking distance depend are the type of the road and its condition, the

type and condition of tire and type of the braking system.

Road factors

 Road surface

The type of pavement is determined by the volume and composition of

traffic, the availability of materials, and available funds. Some of the

factors relating to road surface like road roughness, tire wear, tractive

resistance, noise, light reflection, electrostatic properties etc. should be

given special attention in the design, construction and maintenance of

highways for their safe and economical operation. Unfortunately, it is

impossible to build road surface which will provide the best possible

performance for all these conditions. For heavy traffic volumes, a smooth

riding surface with good all-weather anti-skid properties is desirable. The

surface should be chosen to retain these qualities so that maintenance

cost and interference to traffic operations are kept to a minimum.

 Lighting

Illumination is used to illuminate the physical features of the road way

and to aid in the driving task. A luminaire is a complete lighting device

that distributes light into patterns much as a garden hose nozzle

distributes water. Proper distribution of the light flux from luminaires is

one of the essential factors in efficient roadway lighting. It is important

that roadway lighting be planned on the basis of many traffic information

such as night vehicular traffic, pedestrian volumes and accident

experience.

 Pavement colors

When the pavements are light colored (for example, cement concrete

pavements) there is better visibility during day time whereas during night

dark colored pavements like bituminous pavements provide more

visibility. Contrasting pavements may be used to indicate preferential use

of traffic lanes. A driver tends to follow the same pavement color having

driven some distance on a light or dark surface, he expects to remain on

a surface of that same color until he arrives a major junction point.

 Night visibility
Since most accidents occur at night because of reduced visibility, the

traffic designer must strive to improve nighttime visibility in every way he

can. An important factor is the amount of light which is reflected by the

road surface to the drivers' eyes. Glare caused by the reflection of

oncoming vehicles is negligible on a dry pavement but is an important

factor when the pavement is wet.

 Geometric aspects

The roadway elements such as pavement slope, gradient, right of way

etc. affect transportation in various ways. Central portion of the

pavement is slightly raised and is sloped to either sides so as to prevent

the ponding of water on the road surface. This will deteriorate the riding

quality since the pavement will be subjected to many failures like

potholes etc. Minimum lane width should be provided to reduce the

chances of accidents. Also, the speed of the vehicles will be reduced and

time consumed to reach the destination will also be more. Right of way

width should be properly provided. If the right of way width becomes

less, future expansion will become difficult and the development of that

area will be adversely affected. One important another road element is

the gradient. It reduces the tractive effort of large vehicles. Again, the fuel

consumption of the vehicles climbing a gradient is more. The other road

element that cannot be avoided are curves. Near curves, chances of

accidents are more. Speed of the vehicles is also affected. (Mathew, 2009)

VEHICLE DESIGN

Highway systems accommodate a wide variety of sizes and types of

vehicles, from smallest compact passenger cars to the largest double and

triple tractor-trailer combinations. According to the different geometric

features of highways like the lane width, lane widening on curves,

minimum curb and corner radius, clearance heights etc. some standard

physical dimensions for the vehicles has been recommended. Road

authorities are forced to impose limits on vehicular characteristics

mainly:

 to provide practical limits for road designers to work to,

 to see that the road space and geometry is available to normal vehicles,

 to implement traffic control effectively and efficiently,

 take care of other road users also.

Vehicles can be grouped into

1. motorized two wheeler's,

2. motorized three wheeler's,

3. passenger car,

4. passenger bus,

5. single axle trucks,

6. multi axle trucks,

7. truck trailer combinations, and

8. slow non-motorized vehicles.

(Esguerra, n.d.)

ROAD GEOMETRIC ASPECTS

Geometric design elements play an important role in defining the

traffic operational efficiency of any roadway. Key geometric design

elements that influence traffic operations include number and width of

lanes, the presence and widths of shoulders and highway medians, and

the horizontal and vertical alignment of the highway. Generally speaking,

any evaluation of road safety, such as in the driving dynamic field, has

been conducted more or less qualitatively. It is safe to say, from a traffic

safety point view, that no one is able to say with great certainty, or prove

by measure or number, where traffic accidents could occur or where

accident black spots could develop.

 An accident is always characterized by multiple causes. The alignment

of road is an important influence factor: dimension of radii, ratio of

consecutive curves, dimension of vertical curves and sight distance

conditions. In many evaluation studies of safety effects of road design

elements, it turns out the present poor capacity to explain accidentality

phenomenon; in fact, the main causes of accident are behavior of driver,

which is mainly influenced by his personality, skills, and experience. The

relation between accidents (all, property damage only, slight injuries,

severe injuries, fatalities) and road geometry is proved but it is also a

question of the driving behavior, especially of the velocity. Again, and

again investigations show that comparable curves (similar geometry) are

characterized by different accident occurrence. One reason could be a

different driving behavior: lower speeds are less critical than higher

speeds in curves.

Some of the primary geometric design elements that can affect on

highway safety are carriageway, grade, horizontal curvature, shoulder,

median, vertical curve. The relationship between some characteristics of

these elements and traffic accidents, including studies made in different

countries are classified into groups: Cross-section effects and Alignment

effects.
EFFECTS OF CHARACTERISTICS OF ROAD GEOMETRICAL DESIGN

ELEMENTS ON TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

 Cross-Section Effects

The widths of the various cross section elements affect the capability of

driver to perform evasive maneuvers and determine the lateral clearances

both between vehicles and between vehicles and other road users. In the

existing literature are mentioned especially the following parameters:

 Lane Width

Wider lanes are traditionally associated with higher operating

speeds and increased safety. The Highway Capacity Manual

(HCM) documents that wider lanes for multilane highways

result in higher free-flow speeds. On the other hand, very little

has been found on the safety implications of wider lanes. It is

reasonable to assume that wider lanes may provide additional

space to the driver to correct potential mistakes and thus avoid

crashes.

 Number of Lanes

The number of lanes is another variable which has been

discussed in detail by various researchers. Almost all studies do

conclude that the higher the number of lanes, the higher the
 crash rate. In their research, Noland, and Oh found that

increasing the number of lanes was associated with increasing

traffic crashes. In another study, Abdel-Aty and Radwan found

that more lanes in urban roadway sections are associated with

higher crash rates. Garber, considered flow per lane and found

that there was an increase in the crash rate as the flow per lane

increased. Evidence of the effect of the number of lanes can be

seen when a study is done on the conversion of a two-way

roadway to four or six lanes. With such studies, most have

shown an increase in the crash rate.

 Shoulder Width and Type

There are several purposes in providing shoulder along the

highway; these include to accommodate stopped vehicles so

that they do not encroach on the travel lane, to make

maintenance work, to facilitate access by emergency vehicles

and to protect the structural integrity of the pavement. About

the impact of shoulder width or shoulder in general there are

various opinions in the literature several positive as well as

negative aspects are discussed. As an obstacle free zone, the

shoulder gives drivers the possibility to regain control after

 losing control over the vehicle. There is also evidence that wider

shoulders may encourage higher operating speeds because they

may communicate to the driver the presence of wider space for

correcting errors. Finally, the number of lanes, lane width, and

shoulder width are interrelated, and the choice of geometric

value for each of these elements typically affects the other

elements.

 Median Width and Type

The most important objective for the presence of medians is

traffic separation. Additional benefits from medians include the

provision of recovery areas for errant maneuvers,

accommodation of left-turn movements, and the provision for

emergency stopping. Median design issues typically address the

presence of median, along with its type and width. One study

which evaluated median types found that the safety of the

median type decreased in the following order: flush unpaved,

raised curb, crossover resistance, TWLTL. Wider medians also

seem superior to narrow medians plus a physical barrier, since

these can only be effective if vehicles actually collide with them.

Another study found that type of median and nature of land use

affect crash rate significantly.

 Access Density

Access density refers mainly to the number of driveways within

a roadway segment. Access density is one of the factors which

has been pointed out as the determinant of accident rates on

the highways. One study done in New Jersey on the impact of

access driveways on accident rates for multilane highways

found that approximately 30% of the reported crashes were in

mid-block sections and were caused by the presence of access

points. Another finding in this study was that approximately

25% of the entering/existing vehicles from/ to access points

have impact on mainline traffic.

 Median Barrier

The literature review has identified conflicting results for the

presence of median barriers. Some have noted that the

effectiveness of the presence of medians on safety cannot be

conclusively identified but noted that there is potential for the

median to impact safety. Other have shown that median

barriers have a positive effect, i.e. reduce crashes, and others

 have indicated that there is a relationship between median

barriers presence and left shoulder width.

 Alignment Effects

The alignment of a road cab be described in very specific terms such as

individual curves and gradient or in more general terms such as terrain

types or topography.

 Curve Radius

It is the main factor of radius for horizontal curve and it is

obvious one for traffic accident. When the radius is smaller, the

accident rate is higher. The transverse stability (includes

slippage and overturn) happens before the longitudinal stability

on the curve based on vehicle steering theory, so the radius

value is decided by the transverse stability of vehicle.

 Curvature Change Rate

Various research projects have shown that the curvature rate

(CCR) as value for consecutive elements correlates with safety

relevant parameters. The CCR characterizes a combination of

consecutive elements in spite of the radius which represents

 only a single element. The background is that identical radii

could cause a different driving behavior and therefore a

different accident risk. Therefore, the CCR is a more appropriate

value to describe the geometric properties of several elements.

 Superelevation

In order to counteract some centrifugal force that acts on

vehicle when it is running on the curve, usually the pavement

traverse slope is designed as higher outside while lower inside

to from single slope, this called superelevation. This can

counteract all or some centrifugal force and can improve

traveling stability and comfort.

 Transition Curve

The curvature of transition curve will proportional charge with

the curve length, this can make the drivers turning steering

wheels equably in some speed. When vehicle enters into circle

curve from straight route in some speed or from circle curve to

straight route of from one curve to another, its track is

consistent with mathematic convolution curve, so it takes

convolution curve as transition one.

 Sight Distance

Sight distance is defined as the length of carriageway that driver

can see in both the horizontal and vertical planes. It is

important for traffic accident. It will obviously bring high

accident rate if the sight distance is not enough and this is

visible on the places where have the bad visual distance of

small horizontal curve radius, small crest vertical curve radius,

intersection, and lack of overtaking sight distance on some road

section. In order to ensure traffic safety, the traveling sight

distance should be design enough when design horizontal or

vertical alignment. Sight distances include stop vehicle sight

distance and passing vehicle sight distance. Stopping sight

distance is the distance required by the driver in order to be

able to stop the vehicle before it hits an object on the highway.

 Gradients

Steep gradients are generally associated with higher crash

rates. Hedman quoting Swedish research, stated that grades of

2.5% and 4% increase crashes by 10% and 20%, respectively,

compared with near-horizontal roads. Glennon et al. after

examining the results of a number of studies in the United

 States, concluded that grade sections have higher accident

rates than level sections, steep gradients have higher accident

rates than mild gradients and down gradients have higher

accident rates than up gradients.

 Road surface Conditions

Traffic, weather conditions and ground conditions expose road

surface to wear and tear. Ruts, cracks and unevenness in the

road surface reduce driving comfort and cab be a traffic hazard.

They may make it more difficult to keep a motor vehicle on a

steady course. Besides large holes in the road surface can

damage vehicles and lead to the driver losing control of his

vehicle. Evenness and friction are two important characteristics

that influence road safety. Evenness is a measure of the

regularity of a road surface. All types of road surfaces (rigid,

flexible, gravel, etc.) deteriorate at a rate which varies according

to the combined action of several factors: axial load of vehicles;

traffic volumes; weather conditions; quality of materials;

construction techniques. (Mohammed, 2013)

Traffic signs are the integral part of the road system, and their

general function is to display in formation to road users to facilitate

efficient and safe movement of goods and vehicles. A thorough knowledge

of traffic signs, signals and pavement markings are necessary to all

drivers. Every motorist must be able to recognize and obey them without

hesitation even without the presence of an officer.

Warning signs are used when it is deemed necessary to warn the

motorists and pedestrians of existing potentially hazardous conditions on

or adjacent to a highway or trail. The use of them to warn of conditions

which are apparent tends to breed disrespect for all signs. Warning signs

specified herein cover most conditions that are likely to be met. If other

warning signs are needed, the signs shall be brief and easily understood.

The following are the features of signage that are evident in every road

sign along major road in Metropolis:

 Intensifiers are adverbs or adverbial phrases that strengthen

the meaning of other expressions and show emphasis. Majority

of the subjected road signage started with “BAWAL”, “HUWAG”,

“NO” and “PAALALA” are evident on the wide highway of EDSA

agreed with uniform intensifier that made the set of characters

to become strong and in extreme tense that made pedestrians

and vehicle motorist to retrogress from crossing and apprehend

 the message of the signage which has the will to follow the

memorandum.

The following are intensifier used in subjected road signage:

 BAWAL

A five letter Filipino word which literally means to prohibit from

doing an action. Connecting “BAWAL” in the signage such as

BAWAL TUMAWID, BAWAL MAGTAPON NG BASURA, BAWAL

MAGTINDA, BAWAL MANIGARILYO, etc., only mandates every

concerned individual to respond to the signage because of the

intensifier “BAWAL”.

 NO

Mostly connected intensifier to vastly posted and printed signage

along major roads and highways in the metro. A two-letter word

which intensifies every word in the road sign. Intensifier “NO” is to

give a negative response and it is utilized in notices and

instructions to say that a particular activity and thing is forbidden.

Intensifier “NO” is always seen in NO U-TURN, NO PARKING, NO

LITTERING, NO JAYWALKING, NO LOADING/UNLOADING and

etc.
 DO NOT or DON’T

Intersection is a two intersecting roads or two crossing lanes. The

sign “DO NOT BLOCK INTERSECTION” literally means not to

obstruct the lane on either side of the intersection. It is intensified

by “DO NOT”, a prohibition of doing the action being written in the

signboard.

 Uniformity of the meaning of traffic control devices is vital to their

effectiveness. Uniformity of Traffic Control Devices Section 1A.06

(Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 2009) stated that

uniformity of devices simplifies the task of the road user because it

aids in recognition and understanding, thereby reducing

perception/reaction time. Uniformity assists road users, law

enforcement officers, and traffic courts by giving everyone the same

interpretation. Uniformity assists public highway officials through

efficiency in manufacture, installation, maintenance, and

administration. Uniformity means treating similar situations in a

similar way. The use of uniform traffic control devices does not, in

itself, constitute uniformity. A standard device used where it is not

appropriate is as objectionable as a non-standard device; in fact,

this might be worse, because such misuse might result in

 disrespect at those locations where the device is needed and

appropriate. (ESPERA et al., 2015)

ROAD TYPES

 Earthen Roads

Earthen roads are laid with soil. They are cheaper of all types of roads.

This type of road is provided for less traffic areas and or for countryside

areas. Good drainage system should be required which reflects good

performance for longer period.

 Gravel roads

Gravel roads are also low-quality roads but they are good when

compared to earthen roads. Compacted mixture of gravel and earth is

used as pavement material in this case.

 Water Bound Macadam (WBM)

Water Bound Macadam (WBM) roads contain crushed stone aggregate in

its base course. The aggregates are spread on the surface and these are

rolled after sprinkling water.

WBM roads provides better performance compared to earthen, gravel,

murrum and kankar roads.

  Bituminous Roads

Bituminous roads are very popular roads around the world. They are

most used roads in the world. They are low in cost and good for driving

conditions. They are flexible and thickness of bituminous roads depends

upon the subgrade soil conditions.

 Concrete Roads

Cement concrete is used to construct the pavements in case of concrete

roads. These are very popular and costlier than all other types of roads.

They are not flexible so; they require less maintenance. Concrete roads

are suitable for high traffic areas. Concrete roads are laid with joints and

time of construction is more. (Anupoju, 2016)