01763581

Component

https://annualmeeting.myt...nlineProgram/Details/15490

Road Weather Information System (RWIS) is used by various transportation departments to improve their winter road maintenance services while reducing weather-related collisions during adverse weather events. However, due to its unclear effects on traffic safety and high financial investment, it is essential to quantify its safety effectiveness and assess whether it is financially feasible for statewide implementation. Several studies have looked into the benefit-to-cost ratio (BCR) of the system considering its safety benefits; however, certain biases are associated with the adopted techniques. This study addresses this issue by implementing a before-and-after study using the Empirical Bayes approach for a case study of two RWIS stations in Iowa, U.S. In addition, this study develops safety performance functions and yearly calibration factors using large scale spatial data and a set of reference locations to quantify the sole effect of an RWIS station. To this end, a detailed economic analysis is conducted to quantify the cost-effectiveness of RWIS. Results show that after the implementation of the two RWIS stations, 41.91% and 26.15% of inclement weather collisions have been reduced. The BCR for these stations is 39.97 and 9.83, respectively, indicating RWIS is an economically viable countermeasure and hence the transportation agencies can be more confident while allocating funds for its implementation.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AKR50 Standing Committee on Road Weather.

TRBAM-21-01521

English

18p

2021

Transportation Research Board 100th Annual Meeting

Web

Figures; References; Tables

Bayes' theorem; Benefit cost analysis; Empirical methods; Highway safety; Road weather information systems; Weather conditions; Winter maintenance

Data and Information Technology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2021 Paper #TRBAM-21-01521

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 23 2020 11:06AM