Focus Group Results: Traffic Operations and Safety

Facilitator: Carol Culver, Iowa DOT
Date: June 14, 2004

  1. Implementing Multi-Disciplined Road Weather Training
  2. Developing Real-Time Road Weather Messaging
  3. Establishing Weather-Based Speed Limits

Team Members

Carol Culver (Iowa DOT), Tim Crouch (Iowa DOT), Sheri Anderson (Iowa DOT), Ray Murphy (FHWA), Jim Brachtel (FHWA), Todd Misel (Iowa Highway Patrol), Larry Grant (Iowa Highway Patrol), Geoff Huff (Ames Police Department), Bob Rushing (Iowa DPS), Kyle Kover (3M), Phil Wedgewood (AAA)

Initiative #1: Implementing Multi-Disciplined Road Weather Training (29 votes)

1. Background and Problem Statement

Too often, today’s motoring public drive unknowingly into harms way. A change in mindset is needed to provide training on how to be proactive rather than reactive in response to road weather related incidents. Training is needed for the motorist on how to access and interpret the road weather information that is now available from many state DOT web sites. Careful and uniform packaging of accurate road weather information is also needed to obtain the necessary buy-in from the motorist in making data driven trip decisions.

2. Research Objectives

Research is necessary to understand the human factors that go into trip decision making and understanding the role that road weather information plays in the trip decision making process. This will lead to both improve road weather communications through a common understanding of safety messages about road weather and to better means of educating travelers in trip decision making during inclement weather.

3. Resource Needs and Time Frame

Research team should include meteorologists, value added meteorology service personnel, adult learning specialists, multimedia specialists, human factors specialists, a representative from the Iowa Association of Safety Educators, an RWIS expert, a traffic safety engineer, and a AAA representative. About $500,000 would be required to fund this two-year project. Funding sources would include FHWA, NCHRP, State Transportation Agencies, trucking associations, and the insurance industry.

4. Intended Users

This system could be used by federal, State and local governments, AASHTO, AAA, enforcement personnel, motoring public, educators, insurance companies and road contractors.

5. Implementation

All transportation agencies operating highways, motoring public, trucking agencies and insurance industry could implement this research.

6. Other Outside Parties

Other parties have not been determined.

Initiative #2: Developing Real-Time Road Weather Messaging (56 votes)

1. Background and Problem Statement

There is a lack of consistent, reliable, current and useable road weather and road condition information which is jeopardizing the safety and mobility of the traveling public. State transportation agencies have developed web sites containing information on road weather and road conditions with little consideration for communication and messaging standardization. Motorists can be confused by this lack of uniformity. Information is sometimes not date/time stamped making it difficult to determine its real time applicability.

2. Research Objectives

The objective of this research is to communicate road weather and road conditions to end users in a useable/understandable, timely, accurate, and regionally specific format. Communication standards need to be established for message uniformity for variable message signs, enunciation clarity, date/time stamps, data quality assurance, and regional specificity/understandability (ie, organize sequentially, macro to micro.

Currently the weather service announces storm warnings for counties in a state and visitors don’t know county names. There is a need to identify the area of the state with reference to direction and distance from major cities, then minor cities and perhaps milepost on Interstates. The research will also identify a national architecture and standards for weather traveler information.

3. Resource Needs and Time Frame

The research team should consist of experts in the fields of traffic sign message development, communication standards, highway advisory radio (HAR), 511, dynamic sign message development and deployment, traffic engineering, enforcement, and web site development. About $500,000 would be needed to fund the two-year project. Funding sources could be NCHRP, FHWA and state transportation agencies.

4. Intended Users

This system could be used by federal, state and local governments, AASHTO, AAA, enforcement personnel, the motoring public, educators, insurance companies and road contractors.

5. Implementation

All transportation agencies operating highways and industries that communicate with the motoring public could implement this research.

6. Other Outside Parties

Other parties have yet to be determined.

Initiative #3: Establishing Weather-Based Speed Limits (28 votes)

1. Background and Problem Statement

Current speed limits are based on ideal road and road weather conditions. A system needs to be developed to set speed limits for less than ideal conditions. Drivers need to develop an awareness and be able to recognize less than ideal conditions and understand what the prudent speed limit should be. New legislation needs to be created to provide law enforcement and traffic managers the authority to set and enforce speed limits for driving in less than ideal conditions. Enforcement personnel need to have high visibility during these less than ideal conditions, but automatic enforcement should be authorized to avoid the disruption of on-site apprehension and ticketing.

2. Research Objectives

The objective of this effort is to develop clearly defined, understandable, and enforceable standards for safe and prudent variable speed limits based on road and road weather conditions. The first step in this research will be to develop scientific evidence that defines the safety impacts and societal costs of driving at excessive speed or even making trips at all during inclement weather conditions. This information will be delivered into the hands of traffic safety advocates, law enforcement officials, and other public and private groups that can lobby for legislation to create education and enforcement for prudent driving when weather reduces the safety of the roadway. Education materials will be created to explain to the public the danger of driving during inclement conditions and help them to embrace more restrictive speed enforcement policies during poor driving conditions. The project will also develop model legislation to permit states to legislate variable speed limits for safety purposes. The second step of the research will be to develop strategies for traffic managers and enforcement to allow them to proactively manage traffic and promote safe driving. This may include variable speed limits, traveler advisories in terms that are more readably understood, and other strategies.

3. Resource Needs and Time Frame

The research team should include a traffic engineer, a traffic management specialist, law enforcement personnel, a legal specialist, a legislator, a human factors expert, educators, a representative from the Iowa Association of Safety Educators, National Weather Service representatives, and an RWIS expert.

The project should build on the successes other countries outside North America have had with variable speed limits based on weather and road surface conditions and the NHRP Project 6-14 “Feasibility of Using Friction Indicators to Improve Winter Maintenance Operations and Mobility”. The traffic engineering portions of the first and second steps the project should be completed within 2 to 4 years and require about $1 million. The legislative and education portions of this project will proceed concurrently with engineering portion of the project and take 2 to 4 years a cost of approximately $750,000.

4. Intended Users

This system could be used by federal, state, and local governments, AASHTO, AAA, enforcement personnel, motoring public, educators, insurance companies, and road contractors.

5. Implementation

All transportation agencies operating highways could potentially be implementers.

6. Other Outside Parties

Other parties have not been determined.