Section 1: Situations of Uncertainty -- Page 3 of 22        Self-Study Guide | OUTLINE | INDEX | Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4 |Section 5 | REVIEW |

What is a gap in traffic?


A gap in traffic is the space and time between vehicles.


Short gaps in traffic: The gaps between vehicles in the first photo are very short -- there is only a second or two between the time that one vehicle passes a point and the next vehicle arrives.

Long gaps in traffic The gaps between vehicles in the second photo are very long.




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What are "crossable gaps" in traffic?

They are gaps in traffic that are at least long enough to allow time to complete a crossing.

For example, if it takes you 7 seconds to cross a street and the nearest approaching vehicle is at least 7 seconds away, you have a crossable gap.

Whether a gap is crossable would depend of course on the pedestrian's crossing time -- crossable gaps in traffic can be shorter for pedestrians who can cross in a shorter time than they are for pedestrians who need more time to cross (for example for slower pedestrians or wider crossings).


The O&M specialist is responsible to teach students to determine whether the gaps in traffic are crossable. This will be addressed in later sections of the Self-Study Guide.