The objective of these AASHTO Guidelines is to improve the quality of the traffic information that supports decisions at all levels of the transportation profession. The Guidelines provide a reference for professional traffic monitoring and establish a process for adoption of national traffic nomitoring standards. They specifically address concerns of state transportation agencies.

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) undertook a review and evaluation of the technologies used by the agency to process, store, manage, and disseminate traffic data. Traffic count information constitutes the most elemental data that ADOT uses for planning, analysis and monitoring, and yet often remains the least accessible within the agency. ADOT found that different functional departments often duplicated traffic counts, count information was often little understood, and hence not trusted, and consistent data were not accessible throughout ADOT -- there was not a single source where traffic data were collected and disseminated. Through the research ADOT identified a hierarchy of actions designed to more effectively manage this most basic resource, and to restore confidence among users. An implementation plan was developed and is now being acted upon within the department.

In Minnesota, most traffic data is collected by MnDOT district offices. However, some cities and counties, particularly those in the seven-county Metro area, gather their own traffic counts on County State Aid Highways, county roads and Municipal State Aid Streets. MnDOT is investigating alternatives to this primarily centralized approach to gathering traffic counts. To support this effort, this report examines traffic counting practices on local roads from five perspectives: 1. Current MnDOT traffic counting practices 2. Traffic counting technologies appropriate for temporary deployment 3. Literature review of traffic counting practices on local roads 4. Surveys of statewide participants in MnDOT's traffic data collection program (initial and supplemental surveys) 5. Survey of state DOTs local road traffic data collection practices