Integrating Social and Behavioral Sciences Within the Weather Enterprise (2018) / Chapter Skim
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4 Social and Behavioral Sciences for Road Weather Concerns
4 Social and Behavioral Sciences for Road Weather Concerns
Pages 81-94
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From page 81... ...
, on average 445,000 people are injured and almost 6,000 are killed annually due to vehicle accidents associated with adverse weather (FHWA, 2017b) , which is more than nine times the number of fatalities of all the other National Weather Service (NWS)
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From page 82... ...
, drivers often choose to travel in the face of a weather hazard. Such choices involve personal valuations regarding the importance of making a particular trip at that particular time, balanced against perceived risks of injury or death.
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From page 83... ...
Additional factors such as rain, snow, and fog are not disaggregated from pavement conditions in this graphic; i.e., the percentage due to fog is for those crashes that occur under foggy conditions, but not wet, icy, or snowy pavement conditions. SOURCE: Paul Pisano, Federal Highway Administration.
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From page 84... ...
B: Annual average weather-related vehicle crash fatalities (last column) compared to all other types of adverse weather fatalities, shown for each type of weather event and for all combined (10-year average over the period 2005-2014)
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From page 85... ...
However, at the same time, these advances can lead to overconfidence in some people who drive during adverse weather conditions; motorists will still have the ability to make poor decisions, placing themselves and others at risk while driving in adverse weather conditions. During hazardous weather, state highway agencies have the ability to make "directive communications," such as closing highways and restricting travel, which can raise dynamic tensions between the paternalistic motivation to protect motorists and the economic motivation to avoid closing the transportation network.
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From page 86... ...
• What decision processes take place when someone decides whether to take a trip, and if so, how to take it? • How realistically do drivers view the capabilities of their vehicles, and their own abilities and skills, in adverse weather conditions?
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From page 87... ...
allows state DOTs to utilize proactive strategies to miti gate the effects of adverse weather on roadways. The FHWA provided guidance (Manfredi et al., 2008)
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From page 88... ...
Along with these advances in providing road weather data to state DOTs, there are likewise many advances occurring in the provision of warnings and information directly to motorists. For instance, the RWIS data is used in Intelligent Transportation System applications to provide motorists with real-time warnings of hazards such as high winds, icy roadways, avalanche, blowing dust and low-visibility conditions, and flooded roadways (see examples in Figure 4.4)
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From page 89... ...
While 511 is a nationwide telephone number for traveler information, each state system is independent, with little consistency between them. For example, the New England system reports road conditions in two broad categories3 while South Dakota utilizes 15 different categories to classify road conditions with a multitude of solid and dashed color combinations.4 Some agencies, like Iowa DOT, have incorporated real-time camera images taken from their snowplows to show the actual road conditions along with text descriptions.
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From page 90... ...
4.3 KEY PARTNERSHIPS AND INTERACTIONS IN THE USE OF ROAD WEATHER INFORMATION During adverse weather conditions, the transportation network provides an important lifeline in the provision of critical community services. Maintaining mobility is critical to the mission of emergency managers and responders, and to the provision of essential functions before, during, and after adverse weather events.
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From page 91... ...
While much still needs to be learned about travelers' motivations and decisions about traveling during adverse weather, one thing that is already well understood is that conflicting information about road conditions and impacts confuses the process. Providing consistent, timely, accurate, impact-based, and actionable messages helps avoid confusion and helps travelers make more informed travel decisions.
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From page 92... ...
During the pilot stage of this project, an evaluation by the Utah DOT demonstrated the ability to alter traffic patterns to provide a safer travel experience during adverse weather (see Figure A)
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From page 93... ...
, private meteorological companies, and maintenance managers continue to develop fruitful working relationships? • What are the organizational cultural barriers that impact the relationship between forecasters and maintenance managers?
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From page 94... ...
Applying SBS expertise to studies of road weather offers the potential for profound impacts in terms of reducing death and injury, and improving the many complex interactions that occur among public transportation agencies, private organizations, and individual travelers in efforts to prepare for, mitigate, and respond to dangerous weather events.
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