Extended Abstract (284K)8.1
U.S. highway crashes in adverse road weather conditions
Paul A. Pisano, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC; and L. C. Goodwin and M. A. Rossetti
Weather-related crashes are those that occur in the presence of rain, sleet, snow, fog, wet pavement, snowy/slushy pavement, and/or icy pavement. Twenty-four percent of all crashes occur in adverse road weather conditions. Each year, nearly 7,400 people are killed and over 673,000 people are injured in these crashes. This paper presents statistics on weather-related crashes, injuries, and fatalities on U.S. highways from 1995 to 2005. The paper also examines weather exposure and severity, driver behavior and traffic flow in inclement weather, regional variance in crash types and rates, and the economic impacts of weather-related crashes. The paper concludes with a discussion of documented crash mitigation strategies that have safety benefits, as well as research needs to better understand the nature of the problem and explore improved mitigation strategies.
Session 8, Advances and Applications in Surface Transportation Weather
Thursday, 24 January 2008, 8:30 AM-9:45 AM, 207
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