Road Weather Management Program
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Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

Title:

Development and Demonstration of an Automated Motorist Warning System of Wet Pavement Conditions

Abstract:

In order to solve the problem of high frequency crashes caused by a wet pavement surface coupled with excessive vehicle speeds at the I-595/Florida Turnpike interchange in Ft. Lauderdale, an automated motorist warning system (AMWS) was installed. This report documents the system development and demonstration findings. The AMWS installed is very simple: a wet pavement sensor would activate flashing beacons, atop (existing) static advisory speed signs located at the ramp throat, anytime pavement surface moisture was detected. Volume and speed was monitored by a remote traffic microwave sensor. All data were transmitted to the transportation operation and research centers via dedicated phone lines. The AMWS installed met the primary objective of reducing the 85th percentile speed on the ramp, with a 10-mph reduction during heavy rain and a 5-mph reduction during light rain. There were no reported crashes during the 9-week "after" evaluation period.

Source(s):

University of South Florida, Center for Urban Transportation Research; Prepared for Florida DOT Turnpike District. For an electronic copy of this resource, please direct your request to WeatherFeedback@dot.gov.

Date: 2000

Author:

Pietrzyk

Keywords:


Motorist warning system
Pavement condition
Rain
Speed
Volume
Safety
Traveler information
Precipitation

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