Whether you are looking for a device to monitor traffic or a parking garage or something that can analyze the traffic flow on a construction site, traffic counter equipment is the best go-to choice. It is a portable device that is readily available at affordable prices and equipped with industry-standard inductive loop systems, which are long lasting. These devices can be installed permanently in a particular place. These devices can be installed permanently in a certain place to analyze the traffic flow.
A traffic counter typically has two rubber tubes. Each is laid across the carriageway link to a roadside recorder box. These tubes are used to measure the speed and number of vehicles; some counters also measure the weight of the vehicles passing over. They provide a piece of detailed information and are put to record the data 24/7.
Types of traffic counters
There are three basic categories of traffic counting equipment available in the market.
Inductive loop burial system
They are made according to industry standards and used for permanent and accurate vehicle detection. These systems are easy to operate and do not require any professional installation. They measure the traffic in one to two lanes, its direction, and the speed.
Inductive loop systems are accurate and durable. Their performance is not affected by extreme weather conditions such as wind or snow. They also work very well when it’s raining heavily or in the environment with heavy vibration.
Pressure hose vehicle counters
They are much simpler and portable. The pressure hose machine counter does not work on electrical power, so the areas where electricity is not available; they are a perfect choice. They can be set up everywhere to record the vehicle’s data, such as speed, weight, the number of lanes.
The data is collected on an LCD display from which the report can be downloaded in the laptop in the form of a statistical table.
Manual traffic counters
They provide more precise details of the circumstances on a highway, for example, the weather conditions, constraints to free-flow conditions, critical speed of the vehicles, and their direction. They can be used 24/7 to provide the most efficient results of the traffic flow.
How do they work?
Some counters are used by the user to input the data manually on the location by a visual recorder while others automatically collect all the data and provide the user with the overall analysis in the form of figures.
Infrared and road tube counters are the two classifications of traffic counters widely used by the government as well as local residents. The details of both these are discussed below.
Infrared
The infrared counters are designed for pedestrians and vehicle counts. They are portable, easy to install, and intelligent. Such counters use infrared radiations to scan the vehicles and obtain their information.
Road tube counters
They are a more straightforward and economical counting option—they work by using the pressure sensors. Road tube counters effectively measure the speed, weight, and direction of vehicles.