HBEFA Traffic Situations

Applications guidelines

Authors: Benedikt Notter, Brian Cox, Katja Vuorenmaa Berdica, Daniel Sahlgren, Jan Kräck, Christoph Heidt

The Handbook of Emission Factors for Road Transport (HBEFA) is a standard data source for emission calculations in the six European countries it covers (i. e. Germany, France, Switzerland,
Austria, Sweden, and Norway). Emission factors can be distinguished by “Traffic Situations”, i. e. combinations of area type, road type, speed limit, and level of service (LOS) that influence typical driving behaviour and thus emissions. Emission factors are further influenced by road gradients and, in aggregated calculations, by the fleet composition.

The present guidelines represent the first comprehensive documentation on practical approaches to classify input activity data for emission calculations by HBEFA Traffic Situations. Their objectives are:
► to promote consistent application of the “Traffic Situations” (TS) between users and use cases;
► to make methods and experiences developed over time available to all HBEFA users;
► to save HBEFA users time.

After explaining the underlying assumptions of the Traffic Situation approach and laying out basic principles for classification, the guidelines give practical recommendations on classification rules, data sources, and sensitivity of each individual Traffic Situation parameter, their combination, as well as gradients and fleet compositions. The Appendix contains additional materials such as example lookup tables and typical parameter distributions.