Viscando helps traffic teams understand how vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians move through intersections using 3D and AI-based traffic analytics. With turning movement counts, planners can see directional demand, multimodal activity and movement patterns that support better decisions for signal timing, safety planning, capacity analysis and infrastructure changes.
What is a turning movement count?
A turning movement count measures how road users move through an intersection. In a typical traffic study, movements are counted by approach and direction, such as left turns, through movements and right turns. The result helps traffic engineers understand not only how many road users enter an intersection, but where they go next.
Turning movement counts are often used for vehicles, but modern intersection studies may also need to include cyclists and pedestrians. That multimodal view is important when an intersection serves several types of road users and when planning decisions affect safety, capacity, active mobility or public space.
For a traffic engineer, the value of a turning movement count is practical: it turns intersection activity into structured data that can be reviewed, compared and used as evidence for decisions.
Why intersection counts matter
Intersection decisions depend on movement-level data. A simple total traffic volume does not show which approach is under pressure, which turn movement creates demand at a specific time, or how pedestrians and cyclists interact with vehicle flows.
Turning movement counts can support:
- Signal timing and intersection performance analysis.
- Capacity and demand studies by approach and direction.
- Safety screening and prioritisation of complex intersections.
- Before-and-after studies for new infrastructure or traffic interventions.
- Active mobility planning for pedestrians and cyclists.
- Communication with consultants, authorities and other stakeholders.
When the data is clear, planners can move from assumptions to evidence. That makes it easier to explain why an intersection needs a change, what should be measured next, and how different road users are affected.
From manual counts to richer movement data
Manual turning movement counts can be useful for narrow, short-duration studies. They can answer a defined question at a specific time and provide a straightforward count table for a known intersection.
But many intersection questions require a richer view. A planner may need to understand several road-user types in the same space, compare time periods, share results with stakeholders, or connect volume data with movement behaviour and interaction context. In those situations, automated and sensor-based traffic analytics can make the count more useful.
Viscando’s approach is built around movement understanding rather than only static counting. By combining 3D sensing, AI-based traffic analytics and visual dashboards, Viscando can help traffic teams analyse how people and vehicles actually move through the intersection environment.
How Viscando captures turning movements
Viscando develops 3D and AI-based sensor systems for traffic and movement analytics. Its OTUS3D technology uses stereoscopic 3D vision and AI to capture movement patterns and convert them into numerical data and visual insights.
For turning movement counts, this means Viscando can help traffic teams move beyond a simple count of vehicles. The same intersection context can be analysed with attention to road-user types, direction, position, speed and movement patterns where those outputs are available for the study setup.
The data can then be explored and shared through VisualDB, Viscando’s web-based data visualisation platform. This helps traffic engineers, planners and stakeholders review intersection movement data in a more accessible way than isolated spreadsheets or static reports.
For broader context, explore Viscando’s Traffic solutions.
Data you can use for better decisions
A turning movement count should help the project team answer the traffic question behind the study. Depending on the study scope and confirmed output configuration, intersection movement analytics may support review of:
- Vehicle, cyclist and pedestrian movements.
- Directional demand by intersection approach.
- Left-turn, through and right-turn movement patterns.
- Position, speed and movement behaviour where available.
- Peak-period and time-of-day insights.
- Behaviour and interaction context in complex intersections.
- Visual dashboards for analysis and stakeholder communication.
Final available outputs, export formats and integration requirements should be confirmed with Viscando for each project. That keeps the study specification aligned with the intersection, the decision being made and the data format the traffic team needs.
Use cases for turning movement counts
Signal timing and intersection performance
Turning movement counts help engineers understand directional demand by approach. This can support signal timing reviews, peak-period analysis and broader intersection performance assessments.
New infrastructure and before-and-after evaluations
When a city changes road layout, signal timing, cycling infrastructure or pedestrian space, comparable intersection data can help show how movement patterns change before and after the intervention.
Pedestrian and cyclist safety planning
Intersections are shared spaces. Including pedestrians and cyclists in the movement study can help planners understand multimodal activity and identify where different road users interact.
Multimodal traffic studies
A vehicle-only count may miss important context. Multimodal intersection counts help traffic teams understand how cars, cyclists and pedestrians use the same space across the day.
Prioritising improvements at complex intersections
Complex intersections often need evidence that is easy to review and explain. Turning movement data can support prioritisation by showing where movement demand and interaction patterns are concentrated.
Built for privacy-conscious traffic analytics
Traffic analytics must be useful without creating unnecessary privacy risk. Viscando’s approach is designed to convert movement into data and insights rather than relying on stored identifiable footage.
For public-sector and infrastructure projects, privacy wording should always be reviewed against the final technical setup and local requirements. The final published page should use client-approved privacy language before making any legal or compliance-specific claims.
Talk to Viscando about intersection data
Planning an intersection study? Talk to Viscando about turning movement counts and traffic analytics.
Viscando can help traffic teams define what needs to be measured, which road users should be included, and how the resulting intersection data should be reviewed and shared.
Frequently asked questions
What is a turning movement count?
A turning movement count measures how road users move through an intersection by approach and direction. It typically tracks left turns, through movements and right turns, helping traffic engineers understand directional demand and intersection performance.
Can turning movement counts include pedestrians and cyclists?
Yes, when the data collection method supports multimodal counting. For many modern intersection studies, vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians all matter because they share the same space and influence planning, safety and design decisions.
How are turning movement counts used for signal timing?
Turning movement counts show how much demand comes from each approach and where road users move next. Traffic engineers can use that information as input when reviewing signal timing, peak periods and intersection performance.
What is the difference between manual and automated turning movement counts?
Manual counts can be useful for narrow or short studies. Automated and sensor-based counts can add repeatability, multimodal context, visual analysis and richer movement data when the traffic question requires more than a simple count table.
How does Viscando handle privacy in traffic analytics?
Viscando’s traffic analytics approach is designed to convert movement into data and insights. Any final legal or GDPR-specific wording should be approved by Viscando before publication, because privacy claims must match the exact technical setup and project requirements.
