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Connected Vehicles and Rural Road Weather Management
(July 28, 2016)

Presenter: Britton Hammit
Presenter's Org: University of Wyoming and the Vienna Technical University of Applied Science

The purpose of the T3e webinar series is to provide a platform for students to share their research findings. References in this webinar to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. DOT.

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The slides in this presentation are branded with the logo of the University of Wyoming.

Slide 1: University of Wyoming

T3 Webinar: Connected Vehicles and Rural Road Weather Management; R. Young, B. Hammit
July 28, 2016

[This slide contains a photo of a stone building on the University of Wyoming main campus.]

Slide 2: Gonzaga University

T3 Webinar: Connected Vehicles and Rural Road Weather Management; R. Young, B. Hammit
July 28, 2016

[This slide contains a photo of the Gonzaga University main campus and the logo of the Gonzaga University’s School of Engineering & Applied Sciences.]

Slide 3: Weather Impact on Roadways

• Safety
  • ~22% of US crashes are weather related
    • 6,000 fatalities and 445,000 injuries

• Mobility
  • Capacity Reductions
    • Rain decreases travel speed 3-16%
    • Snow decreases travel speed 5-40%
  • ~23% of non-recurrent delay on highways caused by snow, ice, and fog

• Economy
  • $2.3 billion spent annually on snow and ice removal
  • Weather related delay costs trucking companies $2.2-$3.5 billion annually

[This slide contains a photo of a snow plow plowing a roadway.]

Slide 4: Weather Responsive Traffic Management (WRTM)

[This slide contains a flowchart of four inputs/outputs to the WRTM Strategies- Advisory Control Treatment: Safety, Mobility, and Performance Evaluation; Behavioral/Human Factors Analysis; Traffic Analysis, Modeling, and Prediction; and Traffic and Weather Data Collection and Integration.]

Slide 5: Weather Responsive Traffic Management

WRTM Strategies: Motorists - Motorist Advisories, Alert and Warning

[This slide contains four images: a drawing of a gray house labeled “Pre-Trip;” a drawing of a road labeled “En-Route;” a screenshot of a Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) Travel information Map; and a Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) that is displaying this message: “Accident Ahead | Tunnel Closed | Alt Route US 6.”]

Slide 6: Weather Responsive Traffic Management

WRTM Strategies: Motorists - Speed Management

[This slide contains four images: a drawing of a gray house labeled “Pre-Trip;” a drawing of a road labeled “En-Route;” a screenshot of the Table of Contents from a WYDOT Travel information Map with “Variable Speed Limit Signs” circled; and a photo of a 70 MPH speed limit sign.]

Slide 7: Weather Responsive Traffic Management

WRTM Strategies: Motorists - Vehicle Restrictions

[This slide contains four images: a drawing of a gray house labeled “Pre-Trip;” a drawing of a road labeled “En-Route;” a screenshot of the Table of Contents from a WYDOT Travel information Map with “Size and Weight Restrictions” circled; and a photo of a High Occupancy Vehicles DMS sign that is displaying this message: “3+ Restriction | Now In Effect | On HOV Lane.”]

Slide 8: Weather Responsive Traffic Management

WRTM Strategies: Motorists - Road Restrictions

[This slide contains four images: a drawing of a gray house labeled “Pre-Trip;” a drawing of a road labeled “En-Route;” a screenshot of the Table of Contents from a WYDOT Travel information Map with “Alerts & Closures” and “Construction Projects” circled; and a photo of a rural road sign that is marked: “Wyoming 130 West Closed 33 Miles Ahead.”]

Slide 9: Weather Responsive Traffic Management

WRTM Strategies: Agencies

[This slide contains four images: A drawing of a traffic signal controller; an Agency Coordination and Integration graphic; a photo of a fire truck at a highway accident scene that is labeled “Incident Management;” and a photo of four snow plows plowing four lanes of a highway.]

Slide 10: Weather Responsive Traffic Management

• Wyoming WRTM Strategies
  • 143 miles of weather-responsive VSLs (variable speed limits) along 400-mile I-80 corridor

[This slide contains a photo of a 70 MPH speed limit sign.]

Slide 11: Weather Responsive Traffic Management

• Wyoming WRTM Strategies
  • 143 miles of weather-responsive VSLs along 400-mile I-80 corridor
  • High wind alerts and light-weight vehicle closures

[This slide contains a photo of a DMS that is displaying this message: Strong Wind | Gusts 355+ MPH.]

Slide 12: Weather Responsive Traffic Management

• Wyoming WRTM Strategies
  • 143 miles of weather-responsive VSLs along 400-mile I-80 corridor
  • High wind alerts and light-weight vehicle closures
  • Interactive User Map

[This slide contains a screenshot of a WYDOT Travel Information Map that is marked to show locations of high wind alerts and light weight vehicle closures.]

Slide 13: Weather Responsive Traffic Management

• Wyoming WRTM Strategies
  • 143 miles of weather-responsive VSLs along 400-mile I-80 corridor
  • High wind alerts and light-weight vehicle closures
  • Interactive User Map
  • Still Camera Photos

[This slide contains a photo of light traffic on a rural highway.]

Slide 14: Weather Responsive Traffic Management

Wyoming WRTM Strategies

VSL Effectiveness

• Annual VSL Safety Benefits
  • 27.7 annual crash reduction
  • $2.8 million per year in crash reduction benefits

• Annual VSL Road Closure Benefits
  • 10.14 fewer closures per winter season (Oct-April)
  • $54.7 million per year in closure reduction benefits

[This slide contains a photo of a truck on a rural road with a posted speed limit of 65 MPH.]

Slide 15: Weather Responsive Traffic Management

Data Collection Technology needed for WRTM

• Road Weather Information System (RWIS)
  • Depending on sensor configurations can provide:
    air temperature, pavement temp, visibility, wind speed, surface condition, RH and dew point, camera for visual verification of conditions
  • Pros – real-time localized weather data
  • Cons – expense (capital and maintenance), point data only
    • $25,000-50,000 Capital Costs, highly dependent on sensor package and availability of power and communication (Wyoming)

[This slide contains a photo of a pole outfitted with Road Weather Information System equipment.]

Slide 16: Weather Responsive Traffic Management

Data Collection Technology needed for WRTM

• Mobile Weather Data
  • Internal vehicle data and externally mounted sensors
  • Pros – real-time localized weather for continuous roadway stretches
  • Cons – require vehicles to be traveling, expensive

[This slide contains two photos: a plow truck plowing a road during a snowstorm and WRTM electronic equipment.]

Slide 17: USDOT Connected Vehicles Initiative

Goals:

• Crash Prevention
• Improved Safety and Mobility
• Continuous and Reliable Traveler Information

Types of Communication:

• Vehicle to Vehicle
• Vehicle to Infrastructure
• Vehicle to X

[This slide contains two images: the U.S. DOT logo and a computer-generated image of a highway with each vehicle wrapped in a set of four concentric gold circles which represent Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication.]

Slide 18: USDOT Connected Vehicles Initiative

Timeline: AASHTO’s National Footprint Analysis

• Plan (2014)
• Research and Pilot Projects (2015-2017)
• Evaluation of Applications (2017-2018)
• Deployment (2018-2020)
• Expansion (2020-2040)

[This slide contains two images: a timeline with the information in the list above and a computer-generated image showing V2I connections from a street pole to cars, trucks, buses, emergency vehicles, and a train.]

Slide 19: USDOT Connected Vehicles Initiative

Timeline: AASHTO’s National Footprint Analysis

2040:

• 80% of Signalized Intersections equipped with V2I Technology
• 25,000 Other Roadside Applications in Use (CCTV, Toll Readers, etc…)
• 90% of all Road Miles equipped with Real-Time Localized Information

[This slide contains the timeline from the previous slide with a large yellow star beyond 2040.]

Slide 20: CV Road Weather Condition System

Can Connected Vehicle Data be used to support WRTM?

[This slide contains an image of a car that is labeled in four areas to show the locations of electronic vehicle data that might be used for WRTM.]

Slide 21: CV Road Weather Condition System

• Winter of 2014-2015: conducted a small CV project along I-80 at the University of Wyoming
  • Connected Vehicle Weather Data for Operation of Rural Variable Speed Limit Corridors
  • Britton Hammit and Rhonda Young; MPC-15-299
  • http://www.ugpti.org/resources/reports/details.php?id=835&program=mpc

• Route Chosen because of existing RWIS Infrastructure
• 13 RWIS Stations along Route

[This slide contains a screenshot of a WYDOT Travel Information Map displaying US 80 between Laramie and Walcott marked to show the locations of 13 RWIS stations.]

Slide 22: CV Road Weather Condition System

System Overview

[This slide contains three images: a photo of an OBDLink MX Bluetooth device, a smartphone screenshot, and a photo of vehicles on a snowy road. One vehicle is circled and an arrow points from it to the photo of the Bluetooth device. An arrow points from the Bluetooth device to the smartphone.]

Slide 23: CV Road Weather Condition System

Vehicle Data Collection

• Commercially Available
  • OBD Link Mx (WiFi)
• Open XC Platform (Open Source)
  • Ford Reference OBE
  • Chip-Kit Handmade OBE
  • Cross Chasm C4

Vehicle Parameter

• Steering Wheel Angle
• Engine Speed
• Transmission Gear Position
• Ignition Status
• Brake Pedal Status
• Headlamp Status
• Accelerator Pedal Position
• Torque At Transmission
• Vehicle Speed
• Fuel Consumed Since Restart
• Door Status
• Windshield Wiper Status
• Odometer
• High Beam Status
• Fuel Level
• Latitude & Longitude

[This slide contains a photo of a fleetcarma data collection device.]

Slide 24: CV Road Weather Condition System

Data Communication

[This slide contains four images: a photo showing an OBD-II port, a wifi signal logo, a screenshot of a smartphone, and an Open XC Enabler status report listing.]

Slide 25: CV Road Weather Condition System

Data Processing, Analysis, and Visualization

• ArcGIS

[This slide contains an ArcGIS map displaying road conditions.]

Slide 26: CV Road Weather Condition System

Data Processing, Analysis, and Visualization

• ArcGIS
• FHWA’s Open Source Pikalert® System

[This slide contains a flowchart that shows how Vehicle Data Translator is one of many elements in the System Backend which contributes to the two outputs: Enhanced Maintenance Decision Support System and Motorist Advisory Warning.]

Slide 27: CV Road Weather Condition System

Data Processing, Analysis, and Visualization

• ArcGIS
• FHWA’s Open Source Pikalert® System

[This slide contains a flowchart that shows the three stages of VDT 3.0.]

Slide 28: CV Road Weather Condition System

Project Overview

• Data transmitted at 60 HZ
• Each 80 mile trip at 75 mph resulted in over 200,000 observations for each of the 16 variables

[This slide contains a map of US 80 between Laramie and Walcott with a location nearly halfway between that is labeled “79.8 miles | 1 h 16 min.”]

Slide 29: CV Road Weather Condition System

Project Overview

• 16 trips, over 52 million data points

[This slide contains a table of data from 16 trips; four trips are circled.]

Slide 30: CV Road Weather Condition System

RWIS Data Summary

• Air Temp
• Relative Humidity
• Dew Point
• Average Wind Speed
• Gust Wind Speed
• Precipitation Accumulation
• Precipitation Rate
• Visibility
• Surface Temperature
• Precipitation Type
• Precipitation Intensity
• Surface Status

[This slide contains a screenshot of a WYDOT Travel Information Map displaying US 80 between Laramie and Walcott marked to show the locations of 13 RWIS stations.]

Slide 31: CV Road Weather Condition System

RWIS Data Summary

[This slide contains four vertical bar graphs showing data from the 16 trips: Average Air Temperature, Average Precipitation Accumulation, Average Wind Speed, and Average Surface Temperature.]

Slide 32: CV Road Weather Condition System

RWIS Data Summary

[This slide contains a vertical bar graph displaying Vehicle Speed (MPH) and Engine Speed (RPM) over the 16 trips and comparing the data between sunny weather conditions and adverse weather conditions.]

Slide 33: CV Road Weather Condition System

Vehicle Data Summary: Average Accelerator Pedal Position

[This slide contains a vertical bar graph showing Accelerator pedal position (%) over the 16 trips and comparing the data between sunny weather conditions and adverse weather conditions.]

Slide 34: CV Road Weather Condition System

Vehicle Data Summary

[This slide contains a vertical bar graph showing Average Steering Wheel Angle (in degrees) over the 16 trips and comparing the results between sunny weather conditions and adverse weather conditions.]

Slide 35: CV Road Weather Condition System

Vehicle Data Summary: Windshield Wiper Activations

[This slide contains a vertical bar graph that shows the number of wiper activations at mileposts 220 through 340. There are large spikes around milepost 277 and milepost 315.]

Slide 36: CV Road Weather Condition System

Vehicle Data Summary: Acceleration Rate

[This slide contains a graph that displays vehicle acceleration rate over the route from milepost 230 to milepost 320.]

Slide 37: CV Road Weather Condition System

Vehicle Data Summary: Vehicle Speed

[This slide contains two color-coded maps that display vehicle speed variance over the route, one for adverse weather conditions and the other for sunny weather conditions.]

Slide 38: CV Road Weather Condition System

Vehicle Data Summary: Accelerator Pedal Position

[This slide contains two color-coded maps that display accelerator pedal position over the route, one for adverse weather conditions and the other for sunny weather conditions.]

Slide 39: Lessons Learned

• Difficulty setting up standalone Pikalert System
• Contact with NCAR
  • Crucial vehicle data missing from data sets
    • Traction and Stability Control & ABS Activation
    • Ambient Air Temperature
    • Road Surface Temperature

[This slide contains three images: a drawing of a swerving car, a photo of a thermometer, and a photo of a data collection device.]

Slide 40: Lessons Learned

• Lack of Standardization
• Proprietary Vehicle Data Collection
  • ABS Brake and Traction Stability Control Activation

[This slide contains seven images: a drawing of a swerving car and six photos of automobiles.]

Slide 41: Lessons Learned

• Lack of Standardization
• Proprietary Vehicle Data Collection
  • ABS Brake and Traction Stability Control Activation

[This slide contains a screenshot from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website that is displaying a news article headline from August 18, 2014: U.S. Department of Transportation Issues Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Begin Implementation of Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications Technology.]

Slide 42: Wyoming CV Pilot Deployment Program

[This slide contains a WYDOT Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program flowchart and seven logos: ICF Incorporated, WYDOT, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), CATT Laboratory, Trihydro, the University of Wyoming, and McFarland Management, LLC.]

Slide 43: Wyoming CV Pilot Deployment Program

[This slide contains the WYDOT Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program flowchart.]

Slide 44: Wyoming CV Pilot Deployment Program

Phase I Timeline

[This slide contains the WYDOT Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program Phase I Timeline from September, 2015 to August, 2016 and includes tasks 1-13.]

Slide 45: Wyoming CV Pilot Deployment Program

Phase II and III

[This slide contains a diagram showing the three phases and the post-pilot operations phase of the WYDOT Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program.]

Slide 46: Future of CV and Road Weather Condition Systems

• Considerable interest in the area of road weather management will lead to a better understanding of driver behavior and vehicle performance in non-ideal conditions
• New knowledge will enable operation of roadways that are more adaptive to current conditions, increasing system resiliency

[This slide contains a photo of a truck driving along a snow-covered road.]

Slide 47: Could CV Technology Prevent This?

April 16, 2015

• 79 Vehicle Crash on I-80 (WY)

April 20, 2015

• 59 Vehicle Crash on I-80 (WY)

[This slide contains a photo of a crash scene from a 50-vehicle pileup on I-80 in Wyoming.]

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