Improving the Communication of Safety Information for Windblown Dust Events
Windblown dust events occur in Arizona, and blowing dust has been considered a contributing factor to serious crashes on the segment of Interstate 10 (I-10) between Phoenix and Tucson, as well as on other Arizona roadways. The objective of this study was to develop a set of recommendations that the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) could implement to identify the most effective means for acquiring data about windblown dust events, communicating information about these events to the public, and influencing driver behavior during dust storms. During this study, the project team reviewed ADOT’s current practices for receiving and disseminating information about windblown dust on Arizona roadways, identified best practices employed by departments of transportation (DOTs) in other states for detecting and responding to reduced-visibility events on roadways, and conducted a survey and two focus groups to collect information from Arizona travelers on their experiences with dust events. Key recommendations included additional research into the deployment of a dense network of low-cost visibility or particulate matter (PM) sensors that could help detect localized dust channels, which are harder to predict and detect than regional dust storms. In addition, the project team identified potential improvements to the messaging associated with ADOT’s existing “Pull Aside, Stay Alive” public outreach campaign, which focuses on increasing safe driver behavior during dust events.
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Supplemental Notes:
- This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AND20 Standing Committee on User Information Systems.
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Corporate Authors:
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001 -
Authors:
- Reid, Stephen
- MacDonald, Clinton
- Alrick, Daniel
- Veneziano, David
- Koon, Leann
- Pryor, Debra
- Ginn, Diane
- Kresich, Dianne
- Tait, Timothy
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Conference:
- Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting
- Location: Washington DC, United States
- Date: 2016-1-10 to 2016-1-14
- Date: 2016
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Web
- Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 17p
- Monograph Title: TRB 95th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Crash causes; Drivers; Dust; Highway safety; Remote sensing; Safety campaigns; Visibility; Weather conditions; Wind
- Geographic Terms: Arizona
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01588181
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: 16-1546
- Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
- Created Date: Jan 28 2016 8:59AM