PTOE exam?

[Vishal]

waiting on my PE result.. only then will give any thot to PTOE. i do have the CD and the notes. from what i have heard that the only available material and it is helpful. i believe it shudn't hurt to have it. especially since it is the material from the webinar session on the test. there is no session now for the test scheduled in March. So this material is our only bet.

 

[gymrat1279 PE]

Congratulations! I've heard that is a tough exam. My best friend is a traffic engineer and she plans on taking it. I'm waiting on my PE results hopefully next week.

 

[Vishal]

I am planning to take PTOE exam this March. I was wondering if any of my fellow engineers here are taking it too?

I haven't heard about my application being accepted yet, but I guess that is not so uncommon. I am happy to see that most of the topics are a repeat from the PE exam . However, this is a closed book 150 question exam so a different animal. I am preparing from the only available reference material by ITE.

For those who have taken this already, your input will be highly appreciated.

I will update this thread with any progress in my situation.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

PTOE?

 

[Vishal]

PTOE?

That would be Professional Traffic Operations Engineer... more info can be found at

http://www.tpcb.org/ptoe/default.asp

 

[Vishal]

Update: i received my admission letter (2 weeks back). now the most i am worried about is the actual exam. it is a closed book exam. They will provide with some formulae but while solving the practice i did not understand wht that formulae sheet did exactly???? i get the impression that i will have to memorize a lot of equations like the sight distance equations...!! the syllabus says that engineers are expected to know the basic formulae used.. now i don't call that basic. some questions are so ridiculuous that.... for example,

According to AASHTO policies, a low-speed rural collector road should be provided with a minimum clear zone of _______.

A. 1.5 m.

B. 3.0 m.

C. 6.0 m.

D. 12.0 m.

this type of question on a closed book test? here's another, Approximately what % of length of roadways is classified as collector road for a rural area??? there is a table in AASHTO i think on page 11 that has the answer to this!!!

at this point i am scared.. let's see how i fare... the test is on March 29th. i will write other updates as things move forward... for now, keep me and other candidates in your prayers...

 

[transpo_vidz]

Update: i received my admission letter (2 weeks back). now the most i am worried about is the actual exam. it is a closed book exam. They will provide with some formulae but while solving the practice i did not understand wht that formulae sheet did exactly???? i get the impression that i will have to memorize a lot of equations like the sight distance equations...!! the syllabus says that engineers are expected to know the basic formulae used..

Hai Vish, have you taken the PTOE in March like you were planning? I took the PE this April and i am thinking about taking the PTOE if I pass the PE. If you have already taken the PTOE, then could you please answer some of my questions.

1) What books did you use to prepare? Would the standard books used for the PE exam work?

2) Since there is only roughly 2.5 minutes per question, were there more theoretical questions in the exam as opposed to

numerical ones? Comparing it to the PE exam for level of difficulty, were the questions similar to PE AM exam or PM exam?

3) Was the stipulated time enough to answer all the questions?

Thanks much in advance.

 

[engineergurl]

I didn't take the PTOE but rather the TOPS since I'm in the tech end of things, if you can I would definitly go to the ITE website, and sign up for the review that the offer there (I am pretty sure they have it as a webinar), it will break it down for you pretty well. When I took the TOPS exam, there were some pretty far fetched questions that I thought to myself "how the heck would they expect anyone to answer that", you know, pick the best answer out of four but there was no way you could since you didn't have enough information about the situation to determine the best out of four good, feasible answers. But, there were also some questions that were so basic I thought to myself "how could someone work in traffic and not know that"

Hope this helps a little!

PS- I DIDN'T take the review, and I DIDN'T pass by one percent... go figures.

 

[Vishal]

I PASSED!!!!!!!!! :multiplespotting: :multiplespotting: :multiplespotting:

arty-smiley-048: arty-smiley-048: arty-smiley-048:

just got the result in the mail.... I am glad that the ordeal is over!!!! more letter behind the name now...

feels nice to read... "Mr. Vish, PE, PTOE"......... :multiplespotting:

 

[Guest]

^^^ Congrats !!! :multiplespotting: :multiplespotting:

:woot:

JR

 

[Vishal]

Hai Vish, have you taken the PTOE in March like you were planning? I took the PE this April and i am thinking about taking the PTOE if I pass the PE. If you have already taken the PTOE, then could you please answer some of my questions.
1) What books did you use to prepare? Would the standard books used for the PE exam work?

2) Since there is only roughly 2.5 minutes per question, were there more theoretical questions in the exam as opposed to

numerical ones? Comparing it to the PE exam for level of difficulty, were the questions similar to PE AM exam or PM exam?

3) Was the stipulated time enough to answer all the questions?

Thanks much in advance.

1) I used the course refresher handbook available thru ITE. that's the only book that you will find. the is very good, but not at all the only book you will need. I suggest going thru this book and refer to AASHTO and MUTCD for details. This and your experience should prepare you, in my opinion.

2) & 3) You will have more than enough time to answer all the questions. Time is not a factor since there are not many numerical problems. This is clearly mentioned on the website too and it was completely true. Of course, you should not get spend 30 minutes on question though!! The exam being a closed book exam is difficult than PE exam in my opinion. Not only that, but I feel that this exam is better than PE exam in terms of testing your knowledge and experience. You just can not take the exam without knowing basic things. From my discussion with other successful candidates including myself, I can say that this is definitely a thorough exam and is tougher than PE. I liked it since the exam questions requires one to use a good mix of experience, knowledge and preparation for the test. But, it is not difficult to ace it.

Hope this helps.

Good luck for your PE and then PTOE!!

 

[Vishal]

^^^ Congrats !!! :multiplespotting: :multiplespotting:
:woot:

JR

Thanks JR.

 

[transpo_vidz]

Thank you very much Vish and Engineergurl. Your advice is really helpful. Congratulations to both of you for having passed the PTOE. It's time for you to celebrate!

 

[transpo_vidz]

Hello Vish,

Are you planning on selling the PTOE Course refresher handbook and the CD? If so, I would be interested in purchasing it. Please lemme know.

Thanks.

 

[Vishal]

Hello Vish,
Are you planning on selling the PTOE Course refresher handbook and the CD? If so, I would be interested in purchasing it. Please lemme know.

Thanks.

I am planning to keep the reference material for future use. Sorry!!

 

[transpo_vidz]

I am planning to keep the reference material for future use. Sorry!!

Sure, no problem, i was just wondering.

 

[inspirit00]

Is anyone else taking the PTOE exam any time soon? I am intending to and hence was wondering.

 

[transpo_vidz]

Is anyone else taking the PTOE exam any time soon? I am intending to and hence was wondering.

First of all, congrats to u for acing the PE. I am planning on taking the PTOE. But I need to pass the PE first. I haven't heard from my state board Nevada yet. Will keep you posted once i hear from them.

 

[inspirit00]

First of all, congrats to u for acing the PE. I am planning on taking the PTOE. But I need to pass the PE first. I haven't heard from my state board Nevada yet. Will keep you posted once i hear from them.

Thanks for letting me know. Hope you pass!

 

[al***vj]

Practice, practice, practice. That's the key.