Benefit
In Finland, a road weather information system was projected to yield a benefit-to-cost ratio of 5:1 by reducing annual vehicle costs, and improving motorist travel time and safety.
1993
Finland
Summary Information
The Finnish National Road Administration has developed a road weather service system, for both road maintenance personnel and road users, with the primary objective being to improve the monitoring of road weather conditions so that winter maintenance can be carried out systematically and at the right time. The system is an automated information system that sends actual and forecast weather and road surface information to those responsible for road maintenance. It consists of 11 central stations, about 200 workstations, and about 150 observation stations.
FINDINGS
The duration of slippery road condition has been estimated to shorten 10-30 minutes per de-icing activity, which decreases the chance for accidents caused by slipperiness. Traffic will improve because of better road conditions, in turn benefiting driving time, fuel, and the environment. The estimated cost benefits were $900K/yr in accident cost savings, $60K/yr in time cost savings, and $20K/yr for vehicle cost savings for a total of $980,000 per year. The cost-to-benefit ratio is about 1 to 5 in the Kymi road district (a typical road district in Finland).
FINDINGS
The duration of slippery road condition has been estimated to shorten 10-30 minutes per de-icing activity, which decreases the chance for accidents caused by slipperiness. Traffic will improve because of better road conditions, in turn benefiting driving time, fuel, and the environment. The estimated cost benefits were $900K/yr in accident cost savings, $60K/yr in time cost savings, and $20K/yr for vehicle cost savings for a total of $980,000 per year. The cost-to-benefit ratio is about 1 to 5 in the Kymi road district (a typical road district in Finland).
Application Areas
Intelligent Transportation Systems > Road Weather Management > Surveillance, Monitoring, & Prediction > Pavement Conditions
Intelligent Transportation Systems > Road Weather Management > Response & Treatment > Mobile Winter Maintenance
Intelligent Transportation Systems > Road Weather Management > Surveillance, Monitoring, & Prediction > Atmospheric Conditions
Goal Areas
Typical Deployment Locations
Rural Areas
Keywords
RWIS, ESS, Environmental Sensor Station, RWIS Station, road monitoring, weather station, environmental sensing station, road weather vehicle tracking, winter maintenance vehicle
Benefit ID: 2007-00499
Benefit Comments
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