Development of an Acoustic Method to Collect Studded Tire Traffic Data

Travel during winter months remains particularly problematic in the Pacific Northwest due to the regular occurrence of inclement weather in the form of snow and ice during freezing and sub-freezing conditions. For travelers and commuters alike, vehicle traction in the form of studded tires serves to provide an added level of driving confidence when weather conditions deteriorate. However, when weather or roadway conditions improve as a result of above freezing temperatures and/or recurring snow removal and maintenance, recurring studded tire usage causes damage to the roadway infrastructure in the form of surface wear and rutting over time. Left unattended, this damage contributes to challenging and potentially dangerous driving conditions in the form of standing water and the increased potential for hydroplaning. Currently, an effective data collection method of studded tire traffic on a roadway facility is lacking. Past studies of studded tire usage were estimated based on manual traffic counts on roadways, parking lot counts, or household surveys. As a result, the lack of real-world traffic volume data prevents the development of accurate roadway deterioration models to measure roadway performance and estimate infrastructure life.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Center for Safety Equity in Transportation

  University of Alaska Fairbanks
  Fairbanks, AK  United States  99775
• Principal Investigators:

  Chang, Kevin

• Start Date: 20200801
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acoustic detectors; Data collection; Pavement distress; Rutting; Studded tires; Traffic volume; Wear; Winter
• Geographic Terms: Pacific Northwest
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01748590
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Safety Equity in Transportation
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Aug 25 2020 5:24PM