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Traffic Count Frequently Asked Questions

A traffic count is a count of traffic on State Routes, major county roads, and major city streets. All traffic counts represent a typical 48 hour period, counting traffic in each direction of traffic flow.

How do I get a traffic count?

To get a traffic count for a specific road segment in Georgia, select "State Traffic And Report Statistics (STARS)" or "Automated Traffic Recorder (ATR) Traffic Data Reports" on the Transportation Statistics and Reports page page or contact GDOT's Office of Transportation Data (OTD) by fax at (770) 986-1448 or by completing the OTD Inquiry Form.

What are the standard business hours of Georgia's Office of Transportation Data?

The standard business hours at GDOT's Office of Transportation Data (OTD) are Monday-Friday 8:00 AM - 4:45 PM (EST).

What are the most recent traffic counts available?

To get the most recent traffic counts for road segments in Georgia, select "State Traffic And Report Statistics (STARS)" or "Automated Traffic Recorder (ATR) Traffic Data Reports" on the Transportation Statistics and Reports page or contact GDOT's Office of Transportation Data (OTD) by fax at (770) 986-1448 or by completing the OTD Inquiry Form.

When will the new traffic counts be published?

Updated traffic counts for road segments in Georgia are usually published by the spring of each year.

What does AADT stand for?

AADT stands for Annual Average Daily Traffic.

Does Georgia's Office of Transportation Data provide traffic speed data?

GDOT's Office of Transportation Data (OTD) does not provide traffic speed data.

Why is there a traffic counter on my street?

Each year, traffic counts on various roadways throughout Georgia are collected, compiled, and published in annual traffic count reports. Annually, the state of Georgia is required to submit these reports to the federal government. The federal government uses these reports to decide how much money the state of Georgia will get for transportation and road infrastructure projects each year.

What are the current traffic conditions?

To get the current traffic conditions on Georgia's roadways, call GDOT's Traffic Management Center (TMC) at (404) 624-1300, call America's Traveler Information at 511, or visit 511/Georgia NaviGAtor.

Where can I get historical traffic information?

To get historical traffic information, contact GDOT's Office of Transportation Data (OTD) by fax at (770) 986-1448 or by completing the OTD Inquiry Form.

What is the difference between AADT and VMT?

VMT is Vehicle Miles Traveled.

AADT is Annual Average Daily Traffic.

A road segment's VMT value is calculated by multiplying that road segment's AADT value by the length of that road segment in miles.

For reporting purposes, each route's VMT value is included on Georgia's Mileage/VMT reports. To calculate a route's VMT, accumulate the road segment VMT values for all of the road segments of that route.

Where can I find Mileage/VMT reports?

To view Georgia's Mileage/VMT reports, select "Roadway Mileage & Characteristics Reports - 400 Series Reports" on the Transportation Statistics and Reports page.

What are traffic counts used for?

Traffic counts are used to determine traffic patterns and flows for modeling purposes. They are also used in developing plans to aid in alleviating congestion with the construction of new routes or alternate designs.

GDOT's Office of Materials Research uses truck percentages and Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) data to develop factors that assess the deterioration of pavement.

Georgia's Traffic Operations Office uses the traffic volume data for calculating crash rates and addressing safety issues.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires every state to submit an annual Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) report containing traffic count data, road characteristics data, and other pertinent road data. This submittal is used in legislation, and to determine State funding of highway and road projects.

Who uses traffic data?

Customers of the traffic data include transportation planning professionals, educational institutions, design engineers, contractors, real estate agencies, private companies, and other government agencies. The traffic data is used on national, state, and local levels for planning, modeling, allocation of funding, and informational purposes. Select "Designer's Manual - Georgia Highway System Administrative Review" on the Transportation Statistics and Reports page for general uses of traffic data.

How often do you conduct traffic counts?

There are two types of traffic counts, portable and permanent.

Portable traffic collection devices are placed on all types of road systems to collect traffic data during a typical 48 hour period.

Permanent Automatic Traffic Recorder (ATR) sites count traffic seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Portable and permanent traffic counts are collected by GDOT's Office of Transportation Data (OTD).

How do you determine on which streets to conduct traffic counts?

Roads are designated as State Routes (SR), County Roads (CR), and City Streets (CS), depending upon ownership.

The roads are divided into sections, designated with Traffic Count (TC) numbers. Each TC number has an Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) count.

In order to ensure the most reasonable traffic data is reported, GDOT's Office of Transportation (OTD) portable traffic count program collects data on an annual cycle, in which data is collected at each traffic count station for a 48 hour period.

Portable data is collected at locations that are distributed among the stratification groups, known as Functional Classification Groups. Select "Functional Classification Maps: By County" on the Maps page for information about functional classifications.

How do you determine when to conduct the counts (for example, do you typically do them during the summer or does the time vary?)

Permanent traffic data collection devices are used to continuously collect traffic data.

Portable traffic data collection devices are used to collect the traffic counts during typical travel conditions (not on holidays or weekends).

The raw hourly counts are adjusted by seasonal, daily, and axle factors to determine the Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT).

Seasonal factors are developed according to 16 factor groups and calculated by dividing the average AADT by the monthly AADT for each location.

Daily factors are calculated by dividing the average AADT by the daily AADT. Factors are based on data provided by Automatic Traffic Recorders (ATR).

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