Today. Alive Tomorrow. Providing Improved Road Weather Information

In a typical year, there are 1.5 million weather-related vehicle crashes in the U.S., leading to 673,000 injuries and nearly 7,400 fatalities. Adverse weather and the associated poor roadway conditions are also responsible for 554 million vehicle-hours of delay per year in the U.S., with associated economic costs reaching into the billions of dollars. With funding and support from the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) and the USDOT Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Road Weather Management Program, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is conducting research to develop advanced road weather products aimed at improving safety, mobility, and efficiency. This presentation will highlight two of these products, the Maintenance and Decision Support System (MDSS) and the Vehicle Data Translator (VDT). The MDSS provides roadway operators with a 48-hour forecast of road and atmospheric conditions, including snow and ice accumulation on the roadway, and suggests treatment strategies to mitigate the effects of adverse weather on the nation roads. The VDT incorporates vehicle-based measurements of the road and surrounding atmosphere with other, more traditional weather data sources, and creates road and atmospheric hazard products for a variety of users.