Where the Weather Meets the Road

Where the Weather Meets the Road
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2004-03-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309166578

Weather has broad and significant effects on the roadway environment. Snow, rain, fog, ice, freezing rain, and other weather conditions can impair the ability of drivers to operate their vehicles safely, significantly reduce roadway capacity, and dramatically increase travel times. Multiple roadway activities, from roadway maintenance and construction to shipping, transit, and police operations, are directly affected by inclement weather. Some road weather information is available to users currently, however a disconnect remains between current research and operations, and additional research could yield important safety and economic improvements for roadway users. Meteorology, roadway technology, and vehicle systems have evolved to the point where users could be provided with better road weather information through modern information technologies. The combination of these technologies has the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of roadway operations, road capacity, and road safety. Where the Weather Meets the Road provides a roadmap for moving these concepts to reality.

Data and Mobility

Data and Mobility
Author: Julia Düh
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2010-09-08
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3642155030

Over the last few years, the local value of mobility and information in our society has grown tremendously. As the importance of Information and Communication Te- nologies (ICT) increases, we expect more changes in future mobility behavior. This includes not only mobility behavior for the single user, but also for the transportation of goods and infrastructure operators. It will also affect the regulation of resources and political decision-making. Both, data and mobility become more connected. To cope effectively with the anticipated changes, we must expand our focus and take current developments in both areas into account. The topic of the Lakeside Conference 2010, Data and Mobility – Transforming Information into Intelligent Traffic and Transportation Services, was chosen to underline the importance of information and mobility in transport and to offer an opportunity to discuss and question current activities in this sector. We will consider intermodal concepts and deployments in particular, where data transfer plays a major role, as this could help to reduce the current lack of infrastructure capacity (especially on roads and at airports and seaports). Using modern technologies, traffic mana- ment could become more sustainable and efficient. The Lakeside Conference is, again, organized by a consortium composed of the Lakeside Technology Park, the Austrian Transport Telematic Cluster, AustriaTech and the American Embassy in Austria.

Integrating Social and Behavioral Sciences Within the Weather Enterprise

Integrating Social and Behavioral Sciences Within the Weather Enterprise
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2018-01-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309464250

Our ability to observe and forecast severe weather events has improved markedly over the past few decades. Forecasts of snow and ice storms, hurricanes and storm surge, extreme heat, and other severe weather events are made with greater accuracy, geographic specificity, and lead time to allow people and communities to take appropriate protective measures. Yet hazardous weather continues to cause loss of life and result in other preventable social costs. There is growing recognition that a host of social and behavioral factors affect how we prepare for, observe, predict, respond to, and are impacted by weather hazards. For example, an individual's response to a severe weather event may depend on their understanding of the forecast, prior experience with severe weather, concerns about their other family members or property, their capacity to take the recommended protective actions, and numerous other factors. Indeed, it is these factors that can determine whether or not a potential hazard becomes an actual disaster. Thus, it is essential to bring to bear expertise in the social and behavioral sciences (SBS)â€"including disciplines such as anthropology, communication, demography, economics, geography, political science, psychology, and sociologyâ€"to understand how people's knowledge, experiences, perceptions, and attitudes shape their responses to weather risks and to understand how human cognitive and social dynamics affect the forecast process itself. Integrating Social and Behavioral Sciences Within the Weather Enterprise explores and provides guidance on the challenges of integrating social and behavioral sciences within the weather enterprise. It assesses current SBS activities, describes the potential value of improved integration of SBS and barriers that impede this integration, develops a research agenda, and identifies infrastructural and institutional arrangements for successfully pursuing SBS-weather research and the transfer of relevant findings to operational settings.

Road Travel Demand Meeting the Challenge

Road Travel Demand Meeting the Challenge
Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2002-04-19
Genre:
ISBN: 9264175512

This report provides case studies and examples that demonstrate successful approaches to grappling with gridlock around the globe.