The road weather user community has changed dramatically over the past three decades since the first road weather support activities began. The transitions in technology led by improved computing and telecommunications capabilities have often overshadowed the meteorological advances that have occurred and the growth in these technologies have often resulted in false expectations of capabilities. In addition, the growth in awareness by the road weather user community of environmental sensing capabilities and the increased demand placed on this community to provide greater mobility and safety have frequently resulted in expectations of levels of service that are difficult for the road weather service provider community to provide.

This paper provides a review of the growth of road weather services and its relationship with road weather information users. It provides a summary of issues associated with addressing user expectations and the challenges the provider community faces when attempting to express the scientific and operational limitations in meeting user expectations.