Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/134675
Highway HighwayContractor By John Latta When the Cold Storms Come Winter road maintenance gets ready for the toughest season W inter work on our transportation infrastructure killed and more than 629,000 people are injured in weatheris (a) essential and (b) expensive. But just how related crashes each year," according to an analysis of NHTSA much pressure does winter bring to bear on the fourteen year averages data from 1995-2008. By far the people who care for our highways and bridges? most dangerous place to drive is on a wet pavement during Winter road maintenance makes up about one quarter rainfall. In fact 75 percent of weather related crashes happen of State DOT maintenance budgets. State and local agencies on wet pavement and 47 percent while it is raining. spend more than $2.5 billion on snow and ice control operaWinter weather brings its own on-the-road problems. tions and more than $5 billion to repair infrastructure damAccording to the NHTSA data analysis, 15 percent of crashes age caused by snow and ice every year, according to FHWA. happen during snow or sleet, 13 percent on icy pavement According to data from 1995 to 2004 from the National and 11 percent on snowy or slushy roads. If there's a surprisHighway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), each year: ing number here it's that only 3 percent happen in fog. • More than 389,000 crashes (6 percent of all crashes) ocOl' Man Winter also piles on to our national highway cur in winter weather. system congestion problems. About a quarter of the one-off • More than 133,000 persons are injured in crashes during highways delays (not the predictable, daily slowdown-forwinter weather. That is equal to more than 4 percent of all miles rush-hour commute kind of delay) in the country are crash injuries. caused by snow, ice and fog. That comes to about 544 mil• More than 1,500 people are killed in crashes during winlion vehicle-hours of delay per year. ter weather, which is equal to more than 3 percent of all crash Table: Freeway Traffic Flow Reductions due to Weather fatalities. Freeway Traffic Flow Reductions What's more, NHTSA data shows Weather Conditions that approximately a quarter of Average Speed Free-Flow Speed Volume Capacity the more than six million vehicle Light Rain/Snow 3% - 13% 2% - 13% 5% - 10% 4% - 11% crashes in America every year are Heavy Rain 3% - 16% 6% - 17% 14% 10% - 30% weather-related (occurring in bad Heavy Snow 5% - 40% 5% - 64% 30% - 44% 12% - 27% weather or on slick road surface.) Low Visibility 10% - 12% 12% "On average, 7,130 people are Chart by FHWA Better Roads June 2013 9 HighwayCon_BR0613.indd 9 5/31/13 12:36 PM