Citation

Call DA, Flynt GA. Weather Clim. Soc. 2022; 14(1): 131-141.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, American Meteorological Society)

DOI

10.1175/WCAS-D-21-0074.1

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Snow has numerous effects on traffic, including reduced traffic volumes, greater crash risk, and increased travel times. This research examines how snow affects crash risk, traffic volume, and toll revenue on the New York State Thruway. Daily data from January for a 10-yr period (2010-19) were analyzed for the Thruway from the Pennsylvania state line in western New York to Syracuse. Anywhere from 35% to 50% of crashes are associated with inclement weather, with smaller impacts, proportionally, in areas with greater traffic volumes. As expected, snow was almost always involved when weather was a factor. "Unsafe speed" was the most common cause of crashes in inclement weather with all other factors (e.g., animals, drowsiness) much less likely to play a role. The percentage of crashes resulting in an injury did not change significantly with inclement conditions when compared with crashes occurring in fair conditions, and there were too few fatal crashes to make any inferences about them. Daily snowfall rates predicted about 30% of the variation in crash numbers, with every 5.1 cm of snowfall resulting in an additional crash, except in Buffalo where 5.1 cm of snow resulted in an additional 2.6 crashes. Confirming earlier results, daily snowfall had a large impact on passenger vehicle counts whereas commercial vehicle counts were less affected. Revenue data showed a similar pattern, with passenger revenue typically decreasing by 3%-5% per 2.5 cm of snow, whereas commercial revenue decreases were 1%-4% per 2.5 cm of snow. Significance Statement While it seems obvious that snowfall increases the number of crashes, decreases traffic volume, and reduces toll revenues, research is limited to support these assumptions, especially the latter two. This study involved an analysis of such items for the New York State Thruway. We found that increasing amounts of snow did cause more crashes. While traffic counts decreased, most of the decrease was in the number of passenger vehicles; commercial vehicle traffic was much less affected. Every 2.5 cm of snow costs the New York State Thruway approximately $1300 at each toll barrier and about $331 at each exit. These findings are helpful to law enforcement, emergency responders, and highway managers.

Language: en