Transcript Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for

Where the Weather
Meets the Road:
A Research Agenda
for Improving Road
Weather Services
John Snow, University of Oklahoma
March 17, 2004
Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate
Transportation Research Board
FHWA asked National Academies to
identify research needed to address
weather impacts on the road environment
Weather impairs both safety and
efficiency of roadways
– Associated with over 1.5 million
accidents annually, accounting for
800,000 injuries and 7,000 deaths
– Associated with 500 million hours of
driver delay annually
Few new roads and increasing vehicle
miles traveled will exacerbate already
existing capacity problems
The Road Weather System
Of The Future
• Robust Infostructure overlaying Road Infrastructure
– Measurements on and around the roadway to monitor weather events, road
surface conditions, and traffic flow
– Integrated model-based decision support tools for a wide variety of users
– Telecommunications tools to move data from the roadway and provide
information to users
– Multi-purpose components serving drivers, traffic managers, law
enforcement, emergency management, road maintenance
• “Smart” Vehicles
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In constant communication with the road infostructure and other vehicles
Advises drivers on options, road and traffic conditions, safety concerns
Mobile observing platforms
Adjusts configuration (braking, engine) based on conditions
• “Weather-smart” Users
Primary Recommendation:
Establish a focused, coordinated
national road weather research program
Program Goals:
• Maximize use of available road weather information
and technologies;
• Expand road weather research and development efforts
to enhance roadway safety, capacity, and efficiency
while minimizing environmental impacts; and
• Effectively implement new scientific and technological
advances
Numerous technological advances provide the impetus and
capabilities to significantly improve road weather services
Program Implementation
Regional Research Centers
• To develop new technologies, foster technology implementation
on regional roadways, and facilitate interaction between
governments, the private sector, and academia
• Should bring together weather and transportation researchers,
and practitioners/service providers in the public and private
sectors
National Demonstration Corridors
• To demonstrate effectiveness of road weather improvements,
facilitate nationwide implementation of research results, and
provide a seamless stream of road weather information to users
• One running north-south (e.g., I-35)
• One running east-west (e.g., I-80)
Centralized leadership
at the federal level is essential
• FHWA should have lead role in new road weather research
program
– NOAA should be leading partner
– Federal government should establish new interagency coordinating council to
guide program with participation from FHWA, NOAA, and NSF at a
minimum
• New long-term dedicated funding within FHWA is needed
– ~$25 million per year
– Funds from other relevant initiatives should be highly leveraged
• Must foster effective public-private-academic partnerships
– Essential partners include FHWA, NOAA, NSF, AASHTO, academia, state
and local governments, the private sector, and NGOs such as ITS America and
AMS
Research Framework
5 Key Areas:
• a robust, integrated observational network
and data management system
• a coordinated research effort
• improved modeling capabilities and forecast
tools
• mechanisms for communicating road
weather information to users
• an infostructure that takes advantage of new
technologies
Weather and transportation research
communities need to work together
• Quick progress can be made in some areas by
adapting available technology and techniques
– Take advantage of existing observation systems
– National consensus standards for deploying
road weather observation systems
• The combined communities can
significantly leverage investments
being made by others
– Cell phones, XM radio
– Traffic video cameras
• Some areas will require
significant new research
– Human factors
In Closing
The proposed national road weather research program
will lead to advances in knowledge and operational
capabilities that could improve the safety and efficiency of a
transportation system that is used by millions of people
every single day and is affected by weather every single day
Decision-makers have the ability to help achieve
this vision by capitalizing on the recommended
framework and bringing the road weather research
program to fruition
For More Information…
Contact Amanda Staudt <[email protected]>
Or visit the BASC website:
www.nationalacademies.org/basc/