Field Investigation of Traffic Characteristics in Africa Based on an Integrated Dynamic Traffic Monitoring System

Reliable traffic load characterization remains a critical challenge in many African countries due to the lack of continuous field measurements. This study developed an integrated dynamic traffic monitoring and weigh-in-motion system on representative highways in Kenya to obtain long-term, multi-source traffic data. Traffic operations were quantified across hourly, weekly, and monthly scales, including flow variability, vehicle class composition, axle loads, overload behavior, and speed distributions. Results indicate that the spatiotemporal characteristics of traffic volume show pronounced short-term fluctuations but strong long-term stability. Despite their lower proportion, multi-axle heavy trucks dominate structural loading, with overload ratios exceeding 80% and gross weights approaching 100 t. Over 60% of vehicles operate at medium-to-low speeds (20–60 km/h), extending load duration and increasing pavement damage potential. These combined effects indicate that average indicators alone underestimate true loading demand. The proposed framework provides field-based traffic load spectra and a transferable methodology for traffic monitoring and pavement design optimization across developing regions in Africa.