Citation

Peel T, Ahmed M, Ohara N. Transp. Res. Rec. 2017; 2613: 8-15.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.3141/2613-02

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Drifting and blowing snow is a problematic and dangerous aspect of Interstate travel in the state of Wyoming. The control of snow and the maintenance of roadways is an essential and significant task for many state and local agencies. Many significant factors--such as vehicle control, surface conditions, and visibility--can be affected by hazardous winter weather. In areas such as the inspected 19-mi section of Interstate 80, snow fences have become a common and practical method of mitigating the problems caused by large quantities of snow near or on the traveled way. Wyoming deals with a high rate of adverse weather-related crashes during the winter season. Naive before-after analyses of snow fence installations have historically indicated a slight decrease in such crashes. In this study, the safety effectiveness of snow fence installations was investigated; more rigorous quantitative-based approaches were used and included a before-after analysis with empirical Bayes--in which Wyoming-specific safety performance functions were used--and odds ratio analyses. Crash modification factors were estimated for various crash types and severity levels. The results from this study indicate that the installation of snow fences contributes to a significant increase in the safety effectiveness of Interstate use during the winter. Specifically, it was found that during adverse weather conditions, snow fences decreased total crashes and fatal and injury crashes by about 25% and 62%, respectively.

Language: en