Baseling Current Road Weather Information: Results of the 2010 Quality and Importance Survey. Final Report

摘要

This final report contains research findings on the characterization of the quality and value of road weather information resources used by members of the surface transportation community in their decision-making process. This report focuses on the results from the second survey in a series of surveys designed to establish a baseline metric on the quality of road weather information from the perspective of department of transportation (DOT) personnel who actively use the information to support their operational decisions. The assessment of quality for the 2010 survey utilized the online survey approach established during the 2008 phase of the baselining study. The 2010 survey was modified slightly from the previous version to address some inconsistencies found during the first survey. Survey questions sought input on product components, parameters within specific products routinely used by DOT decision makers. The report details the organization of the survey responses into a quality attribute and importance categories and then analyzes the results of the survey. It addresses variable user responses within and amongst quality attribute classes that illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of specific product components. The product and element categories addressed in the 2008 survey were not part of the question set in 2010; however, various product components were subsets of both the product and element categories. The report provides a logical map to illustrate how the product components responses were composed into responses representative of the product and element results from 2008. The resulting derived product and element measures permitted a mechanism to compare survey results from 2008 to 2010. The report presents the results of the 2010 survey. It augments the quality markers used for comparison in 2008 and points out road weather parameters that could benefit from improvement. Although slightly different sampling techniques were used between 2008 and 2010 the results provided similar quality metrics. Some variability existed between the two sets of results; however, the composite of all results indicated either no change or a slight increase in quality occurred in the two years. The modification of the survey format and a limited sample size created statistical uncertainties that required consideration. These unknowns were addressed and recommendations were offered to continue to improve the road weather monitoring program and stabilize the metrics.