ASTM WK25280 to Outline Truth-in-Data Principle for Traffic Monitoring
October 26, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
ASTM International Committee E17 on Vehicle-Pavement Systems is developing ASTM WK25280 - Practice for Highway Traffic Monitoring Truth-in-Data.
This standard will describe how truth-in-data should be applied to traffic monitoring data collection, summarization and reporting.
Current traffic monitoring standards, such as ASTM E2667 - Practice for Acquiring Intersection Turning Movement Traffic Data, are based on the principle of truth-in-data.
The truth-in-data principal states that the opportunity to collect data that advises safe and efficient transportation carries with it the obligation to report how the information was collected, edited, summarized and reported.
"The proposed standard will help ensure traffic monitoring data are understood and can be compared within and among agencies now and over time," according to David Albright, E17 member.
"It is imperative to meaningfully compare among highway projects because there are more needs than funds," said Albright. "Projects are compared using traffic monitoring data that indicate the need for lanes and trails, traffic signals and improvements to reduce crash probability and severity."
Albright said a traffic monitoring truth-in-data standard will ensure these data are consistent and comparable.
ASTM WK25280 will affect highway investment and ongoing operational and safety decisions and ultimately every person who travels, according to Albright. Users will include traffic monitoring system developers, traffic data collectors and traffic data users.
Subcommittee E17.52 needs involvement in the development of ASTM WK25280 from both public and private sector organizations.
"Public sector interests are found at all levels of government: local, state and national," Albright said. "A truth-in-data standard will involve personnel from the field technician who collects data to the policymaker who uses the data to select a project for funding."
From the private sector, Albright said groups that could contribute to the development of ASTM WK25280 include technology-based companies with products to collect traffic data, engineering consulting firms with services to apply traffic data to solve operational and safety problems and system developers with products to accept, summarize and report traffic data.
ASTM WK25280 - Practice for Highway Traffic Monitoring Truth-in-Data is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee E17.52 on Traffic Monitoring.
Source: ASTM International.