Traffic counting

Traffic frequency is an important indicator characterizing the performance of the road network. It is used in road design, planning and carrying out road maintenance works. Data on the number and speeds of road users (vehicles, bicycles, scooters, pedestrians, etc.) are collected with both stationary and portable counting devices.

For more than several decades, we have counted traffic on Estonian roads with various devices and collected traffic-related statistics. We process and analyze traffic data for a wide variety of purposes: from simpler ones, which are related to finding the annual average daily traffic frequency (AKÖL), calculating road permeability, determining the service level and load frequency, and ending with the preparation of more complex traffic models and forecasts.

We also deal with the identification and counting of light traffic. For example, we used computer vision and digital image processing methods to count the number of light passengers at railroad crossings in the city of Tallinn and found out which are the most used crossings in Tallinn.

When conducting larger studies, we use traffic models in addition to various automatic devices to detect the traffic of the entire area under study. The accuracy of the models directly depends on the underlying data, including the results of the traffic census. The more up-to-date data there is about the study area, the more accurate and reliable the model is.

When modeling traffic, we proceed from the assumption that road users make rational decisions and move from their place of residence to the points they need and back by the shortest route. After connecting the starting and destination points of the movement with the nodes of the road network, we calculate the optimal routes and find the total transport demand for each used road section. By adding new roads, centers of attraction and population centers to the model or removing existing ones, we can learn how much traffic volumes change. Based on the results of the modeling, we can give assessments, for example, of various plans and development plans.

We are happy to offer counting of vehicles, bicycles, scooters and pedestrians with automatic devices, video counting with various camera solutions and traffic modeling. Thanks to the unique technical base, we can also organize larger traffic counts (up to 100 road cross sections at once) and model traffic for larger areas (city, county, country).

Traffic counts are supported by a unique information system that we developed to ensure uniform management, processing and storage of collected count data.

If you are interested in traffic counting, we are the first place to turn!

See also the Traffic studies page .