ADVANCES IN TRAFFIC DATA COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT. REV.

Since the first known vehicle detector was introduced in 1928 at a signalized intersection, there have been hundreds of attempts to improve and create systems that monitor vehicle presence and passage at strategic locations on the nations streets and highways. Without accurate and reliable detectors, traffic management decisions based upon real-time or historical data are compromised. Many agencies use post processing for quality assurance as opposed to quality control. Quality assurance attempts to "fix the data" or identify defective data rather than ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the equipment. Quality control emphasizes good data by ensuring selection of the most accurate detector then optimizing detector system performance. This white paper identifies innovative approaches for improving data quality through quality control. It includes innovative contracting methods, standards, training for data collection, data sharing between agencies and states, and advanced traffic detection techniques