The impact of climate change on winter road maintenance and traffic accidents in West Midlands, UK

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 284-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna K. Andersson ◽  
Lee Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Road Maintenance ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
West Midlands ◽  
Winter Road ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Winter Road Maintenance

scholarly journals Assessment model of levels for winter road maintenance

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas Ratkevičius ◽  
Alfredas Laurinavičius
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Road Maintenance ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Users ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
Winter Road ◽  
Winter Time ◽  
National Significance ◽  
Winter Road Maintenance

The limited funding for the road industry leads to economizing in the planning of road network maintenance, to identifying the appropriate priorities of the activities with the greatest benefit for the society. The level of maintenance is the direct assessment of the road operation and maintenance service provided to the road users; it directly affects the road maintenance and for road users costs the better is road maintenance, the road users incur the fewerexpenses and vice versa. Insufficient road maintenance in the winter time causes not only the danger of traffic accidents but also worsens the driving conditions, increases the fuel consumption, vehicle depreciation, transportation becomes more expensive. Many results of studies showed that the current choice of maintenance levels in the winter time taking into account only the road category and traffic volume does not ensure the indicators of the most advanced world countries and road functional purpose. The principle of the minimal expenses for the society should be the main criterion in identifying the optimal levels of winter road maintenance. The experience of Lithuania and foreign countries helped in creating the model of assessment of winter maintenance levels for Lithuanian roads of national significance, which can be applied in the other foreign countries as well. This model could be an effective tool for the selection of the optimal maintenance levels, which would economically substantiate the winter road maintenance strategy, that best corresponds to the needs of the society.

scholarly journals Climate change and winter road maintenance

2020 ◽  
Vol 161 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-242
Author(s):  
Torbjørn Lorentzen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Road Maintenance ◽  
Winter Road ◽  
Winter Road Maintenance

scholarly journals The Impacts of Climate Change on Road Traffic Accidents in Saudi Arabia

Climate ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Mazharul Islam ◽  
Majed Alharthi ◽  
Md. Mahmudul Alam
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Annual Data ◽  
Road Traffic Accidents ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

The potential costs of road traffic accidents (RTAs) to society are immense. Yet, no study has attempted to examine the impact of climate change on RTAs in Saudi Arabia, though RTA-leading deaths are very high, and the occurrence of climatic events is very frequent. Therefore, this study aims to assess the impact of climate change on RTAs in Saudi Arabia and to recommend some climate change mitigation and adaptation policies to make roads safe for all. This study employed annual data from 13 regions of Saudi Arabia, from 2003 to 2013. The data were analyzed on the basis of panel regression models—fixed effect, random effect, and the pooled ordinary least square. The findings show that temperature, rainfall, sandstorms, and number of vehicles were statistically and significantly responsible for RTAs in Saudi Arabia in the study period. This study also found that RTAs both inside and outside cities significantly caused injuries, but only RTAs inside cities significantly caused death. Furthermore, the death from RTAs injuries was found to be statistically significant only for motor vehicle accidents. The findings will assist policymakers in taking the right courses of action to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change through understanding climate influence on RTAs.

scholarly journals Planning for Winter Road Maintenance in the Context of Climate Change

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 521-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay Matthews ◽  
Jean Andrey ◽  
Ian Picketts
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Predictive Accuracy ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Road Maintenance ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Winter Weather ◽  
Winter Road ◽  
Winter Road Maintenance

Abstract Winter weather creates mobility challenges for most northern jurisdictions, leading to significant expenditures on winter road maintenance (WRM) activities. While the science and practice of snow and ice control is continually evolving, climate change presents particular challenges for the strategic planning of WRM. The purpose of this study is 1) to develop a winter severity index (WSI) to better understand how winter weather translates into interannual variations in WRM activities and 2) to apply the WSI to future climate change projections to assist a northern community in preparing for climate change. A new method for creating a WSI model is explored, using readily available data from maintenance records and meteorological stations. The WSI is created by optimizing values for three levels of snowfall as well as potential icing events and is shown to have high predictive accuracy for WRM (coefficient of determination R2 of 0.93). The WSI is then applied to historic and future climate data in a municipality located in central British Columbia, Canada. Findings reveal that much of the variability in WRM can be attributed to weather. The results of the climate change analysis show that winter precipitation in the region is expected to increase by 5.2%–12.3%, and winter average temperatures are projected to increase by 1.5°–2.8°C in the 2050s, compared to the 1976–2000 baseline based on 65 GCMs. Based on the midrange (25th to 75th percentiles) of the 65 GCM projections, annual demand for WRM activities is estimated to decrease by 13.0%–22.0%.

scholarly journals Monitoring of The Impact of Road Salting On Spruce Forest Ecosystem In The Vicinity of The Highway D1 In The Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, Czech Republic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitka Hegrová ◽  
Lubomír Prokeš ◽  
Petr Anděl ◽  
Martina Bucková ◽  
Vilma Jandová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Sodium Concentration ◽  
Road Maintenance ◽  
Winter Maintenance ◽  
The Road ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Winter Road ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Winter Road Maintenance

Abstract Monitoring of pollution in the vicinity of roads connected to winter road maintenance is one of the important tools for optimising winter maintenance technology and reducing its environmental impact. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between winter road maintenance and the increased concentration of sodium ion to characterize the harm caused by the de-icing agents on selected types of individual components grown in the Norway Spruce ecosystem. The model area is located in the immediate vicinity of the D1 motorway connecting Prague and Brno (Czech Republic), at 103rd kilometer. The area is thus exposed to long-term contamination from automobile transport and the monitoring was carried out for three consecutive years. A clear effect of the de-icing agents on conifers near the road has been demonstrated by the symptoms of salt damage visually observed in close proximity to the road (at a sampling distance of 5 m). The needles of these spruce trees also showed increased sodium concentrations, regardless of the age of the needles. The study also confirms that sodium accumulates in all selected components of the analysed ecosystem (moos, humus, soil). The sodium concentration has been found to decrease with increasing distance from the road for all of the components.

HOW CLIMATE CHANGE CAN INFLUENCE THE AGRICULTURE IN UKRAINE: A REVIEW

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Maidanovych ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Winter Period ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Resource Saving ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Average Annual Temperature ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this work is to review and analyze the main results of modern research on the impact of climate change on the agro-sphere of Ukraine. Results. Analysis of research has shown that the effects of climate change on the agro-sphere are already being felt today and will continue in the future. The observed climate changes in recent decades have already significantly affected the shift in the northern direction of all agro-climatic zones of Europe, including Ukraine. From the point of view of productivity of the agro-sphere of Ukraine, climate change will have both positive and negative consequences. The positives include: improving the conditions of formation and reducing the harvesting time of crop yields; the possibility of effective introduction of late varieties (hybrids), which require more thermal resources; improving the conditions for overwintering crops; increase the efficiency of fertilizer application. Model estimates of the impact of climate change on wheat yields in Ukraine mainly indicate the positive effects of global warming on yields in the medium term, but with an increase in the average annual temperature by 2 ° C above normal, grain yields are expected to decrease. The negative consequences of the impact of climate change on the agrosphere include: increased drought during the growing season; acceleration of humus decomposition in soils; deterioration of soil moisture in the southern regions; deterioration of grain quality and failure to ensure full vernalization of grain; increase in the number of pests, the spread of pathogens of plants and weeds due to favorable conditions for their overwintering; increase in wind and water erosion of the soil caused by an increase in droughts and extreme rainfall; increasing risks of freezing of winter crops due to lack of stable snow cover. Conclusions. Resource-saving agricultural technologies are of particular importance in the context of climate change. They include technologies such as no-till, strip-till, ridge-till, which make it possible to partially store and accumulate mulch on the soil surface, reduce the speed of the surface layer of air and contribute to better preservation of moisture accumulated during the autumn-winter period. And in determining the most effective ways and mechanisms to reduce weather risks for Ukrainian farmers, it is necessary to take into account the world practice of climate-smart technologies.

Modeling the Snow Deposit Process on the Highways in the Flowvision Software

2020 ◽  
pp. 72-83
Author(s):  
Т. В. Самодурова ◽  
О. В. Гладышева ◽  
Н. Ю. Алимова ◽  
Е. А. Бончева
Keyword(s):  
Hydrodynamic Model ◽  
Geometric Model ◽  
Information Resources ◽  
Road Maintenance ◽  
Snow Removal ◽  
Experimental Section ◽  
Deposit Modeling ◽  
Winter Road ◽  
Highway Embankment ◽  
Winter Road Maintenance

Постановка задачи. Рассмотрена задача моделирования отложения снега во время метелей на автомагистралях с барьерными ограждениями в программе FlowVision . Результаты. В качестве опытного участка рассмотрен участок автомагистрали, проходящий в насыпи. Создана геометрическая модель участка автомагистрали. Обоснованы информационные ресурсы для создания гидродинамической модели обтекания насыпи автомагистрали с барьерными ограждениями снеговетровым потоком во время метелей. Проведено моделирование процесса снегонакопления на опытном участке с использованием программного комплекса FlowVision во время метелей с различными параметрами. Выводы. Сделан вывод о возможности применения программного комплекса FlowVision для совершенствования методики назначения снегозащитных устройств и определения параметров снегоочистки при зимнем содержании автомобильных дорог. Statement of the problem. The problems of snow deposit modeling on the highways with crash barriers during blizzards in the FlowVision was discussed. Results. The highway section passing in the embankment as an experimental section has been considered. The geometric model of the highway section was created. The information resources for designing a hydrodynamic model of a snowflow stream of highway embankment with barriers during blizzard were identified. The modeling of the snow deposit process in the experimental section using the FlowVision software during blizzards with different parameters was carried out. Conclusions. It was concluded that it is possible to use the FlowVision software to improve the methodology for snow protection designing and determining snow removal parameters for winter road maintenance.

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