PTOE exam?

[YZ123]

Hello

I am also planning to take PTOE in october 08. Do you know any ref. material other than ITE refresher course material?

Thanks

I'm going to take the PTOE exam, just as soon as I get off my ass and put in my application. Thanks to the groundbreakers here for posting your experiences. Congrats Vish, sorry to congrat so late.

 

[YZ123]

Hi Vish,

Belated congratulations for passing PTOE exam. Could you give any styudy tipe for preparing for the exam? What is like 50% problems and 50% theory related questions on the exam?

Thanks

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:

 

[Vishal]

No, apparently the only real study book is the ITE stuff. Other than that, you should be very familiar with green book, roadside design manual, HCM, MUTCD, etc. Also, you should probably look through your Garber and Hoel book to refresh your memory on highway safety concepts such as Empirical Bayes, Chi Square, and the Kolomo (???Spelling) Smirnof methods. I guess after OCT, I'll know much better what they are going to be looking for.

I agree here, I think I have mentioned this somewhere in this post. ITE refresher book is the only real study material you have that is directly related to the test. However, it is not sufficient on its own. The test relies on your experience more and then knowledge/engineering judgement. I took the ITE book as the starting point, then referred to the topics in the ITE book in detail in AASHTO, CM, MUTCD. I wouldn't go to length with Hoel and Garber, there will not be many numerical problems on the test. I would say there were only 25-35 percent numerical problems... My guess may be skewed, but from what I remember there weren't as many numerical problems. I would recommend reading chapter on Interchanges in AASHTO and about RR crossing from MUTCD and some AASHTO. I found that these are the topics that we don't deal with routinely and there is not much much mentioned in the reference book other than basic points.

One more thing, you will find that the questions in the refresher book refer to a book called "Traffic Safety Toolbox". I ended up buying it, but if you don't, never mind. There is too much information in there. However, I referred to the chapters that the refresher book referenced for that answers and that was it. It may have helped me answer 1-2 questions, if not, then at least gave me mental peace.

Let me know if I can help in any other way. I was **** nervous before going to the exam as there is no study material and had no idea what to expect!! So this feeling is normal I guess. Just read through the manual and be well versed with the manuals.

 

[TakeTheBus]

Go to www.ite.org and purchase the following book. It is very useful and covers a lot of the topics on exam. Good luck guys!
Professional Traffic Operations Engineers Certification Program Refresher Course

Category: Career Guidance/Training

This updated edition provides an overview of topics, key references and a brief independent study guide by topic for practicing engineers who intend to take the PTOE certification examination, but is not keyed specifically to the examination questions. Developed by Robert K. Seyfried, Director, Transportation Engineering Division, Northwestern University Traffic Institute. Modules were authored by Jerome W. Hall, Martin E. Lipinski, Dawn Marincic, John M. Mason, Jr., Michael D. Meyer and Robert K. Seyfried. ITE, 2002, 186 pp, ISBN No: 0-935403-44-2

Item PD-021B. Member price: $20.00 , Nonmember price: $25.00

Hi, any chance you might have this book for sale? ITE does not seem to have it any more.

Cheers,

Andy

 

[iainmn]

I was wondering what the best way to study for the exam might be? I have the book from ITE, but what would people recommend studying beyond that?

 

[ARLORD]

See the following link:

http://engineerboards.com/index.php?showtopic=3012

 

[Vishal]

I was wondering what the best way to study for the exam might be? I have the book from ITE, but what would people recommend studying beyond that?

I have wrote my experience and study methods here..

http://engineerboards.com/index.php?showtopic=5487

Hope this helps.

 

[iainmn]

I have wrote my experience and study methods here..
http://engineerboards.com/index.php?showtopic=5487

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the help. That is similar to what I am hearing from others too. Sounds like there is just the one review manual to help steer your study of the other manuals.

 

[iainmn]

Anyone know approximately how long it takes to get PTOE results? Thanks.

 

[Vishal]

Between 5-7 weeks. More closer towards 5 week mark though. I took the last paper-pencil administration last year. Since then the test is computer based right? I thought computer based test results were provided instantly??

 

[iainmn]

Yes, the test is now computer based. Another person I talked to, that had taken the test previously, said they received preliminary results immediately. However, nothing like that was provided when I took the exam. All I got was a printout saying I had completed each section of the exam. I guess I will just have to watch the mail in a few weeks. Thanks for the info.

 

[cape]

Between 5-7 weeks. More closer towards 5 week mark though. I took the last paper-pencil administration last year. Since then the test is computer based right? I thought computer based test results were provided instantly??

Hi - how long it took you before getting the certificate from ITE?

 

[Vishal]

Hi - how long it took you before getting the certificate from ITE?

My passing letter informed me that the certificate will be mailed within 6-8 weeks. The timeline was pretty much right on that. I must say that I love my PTOE certificate. The caligraphy work and the look of the certificate is awesome. I haven't seen any certificate like that, simply awesome.

 

[arenny]

I am signed up to take the PTOE in OCtober and I am really nervous about it.

What other formulas do you have to memorize? Their formula sheet was pretty minimal...

Any other obscure chapters in HCM or AASHTO or books I should take a second look at?

Which parts of AASHTO, HCM and MUTCD should I concentrate on?

Any tips are greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks

 

[jayjardine]

Hi arenny,

Having just received my passing letter from the August sessions (whew!), I would second the good advice Vishal has given. While I don't mean to alarm you, I did find the exam quite challenging and immediately wished I had delved into more depth in the recommended manuals. As Vish said, the refresher manual is helpful in re-introducing some of the key concepts, but you need to review in great depth key manuals such as the HCM, the AASHTO Green Book and the MUTCD. There were also questions lifted directly from text in the ITE Traffic Engineering Handbook and Traffic Safety Toolbox - basically when you review these, you want to ask yourself, how could this section be rephrased in the form of a multiple choice question.

With regards to memorizing formulae, I have to admit I was confused and frustrated by the statement in the refresher course that most required formulas would be provided. A sample sheet was provided, however, the associated sample quiz had questions requiring formulas that were not shown in the sample formula sheet! Thus, I panicked and spent a lot of last minute cram time committing things like sight distance and critical collision rate equations to memory - time that could've been better spent reading the text books.

In terms of purchasing resources, I would recommend the refresher course handbook but not the web seminar or the powerpoint CD (the CD had very little additional content that wasn't already in the handbook). You may be able to borrow the required manuals from your place of work to study, however, be advised that the ITE pubs you have on hand may be significantly out of date (I was relying on older handbooks from the 80s and 90s)

If I had to sum up one key challenge it would be retraining yourself according to one specific by-the-book requirement. Many of us likely practice in different areas of North America (even in different countries) and local standards may vary considerably in terms of "what is typical / acceptable". In addition, if you work in an urban area or a mountainous area, you may be less familiar with the standards for rural highways or things like uncontrolled intersections. If you don't deal with work zone traffic management or railway crossings frequently you'll have to brush up on these areas as I recall a lot of questions on these topics.

Good luck - the exam is tough, but it will definitely strengthen and enhance your professional knowledge.

 

[arenny]

Hi Jay,

Thanks for the response, I take the exam on Friday and I am very nervous about it. Memorizing all the formulas and constants sure is a pain. We'll see how it goes.

Did you find the questions to be common sense if you are "in the transpo business?"

Were you able to program some of the equations on your calculator?

Congrats on passing this!

 

[narnio100]

Hey, I took the PTOE and it is really hard. I'll honestly say that if I failed I will not retake it for a couple years...it is the kind of test that you can't really study for. You can only learn the different aspects of the test by working in the transportation field. I do a variety of Civil Engineering but try to specialize in Transportation. There were lots of questions that blew me away and even now I'm think, how would I even look that up?

Good luck! Do you know how long it takes for ITE to grade and get results out?

 

[narnio100]

Yes, the test is now computer based. Another person I talked to, that had taken the test previously, said they received preliminary results immediately. However, nothing like that was provided when I took the exam. All I got was a printout saying I had completed each section of the exam. I guess I will just have to watch the mail in a few weeks. Thanks for the info.

How long did it end up taking for you to get your results?

 

[richj_pe_ptoe]

How long did it end up taking for you to get your results?

I took the exam on August 28, 2009 and recieved my pass letter around 2 weeks later...

 

[transpo_vidz]

Did anyone who took the PTOE exam in October 2009 get the results yet? Please update.