Overview
The goal of a road weather management (RWM) program is to provide information about weather related impacts on the transportation system and users and, if possible, mitigate the problem.
Strategies
Three basic road weather strategies are cited in the AASHTO Transportation Operations Manual (TOM) (AASHTO, 2023, p. 300):
Advisory strategies: provide information on prevailing and predicted conditions to both agencies and the public.
Control strategies: change the state of roadway devices to permit or restrict traffic flow and regulate roadway capacity.
Treatment strategies: supply resources to roadways to minimize or eliminate weather impacts.
Types and Impacts
Road weather accounts for 12% of all vehicle crashes, including 9% of crash fatalities (FHWA, 2025). This means, from 2019 to 2023, an average of 3,807 people were killed each year from road weather events.
Weather-related crash statistic demonstrate that all weather conditions present a great risk to human health. While rain related crashes may kill the greatest number of people, conditions such as low visibility or severe crosswinds generate a high percentage of injury and death per each crash.
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