A decade ago, road safety and mobility policy pinned its hopes on technology to abate the appallingly high highway fatality rate. That bright promise has been laboring, not languishing, but clearly needs a boost to achieve the vision of harnessing wireless technology and on-board vehicle communications to overcome distracted driving and make our roads both safer and reliably free-flowing. A new DOT white paper, Achieving the Vision: From VII to IntelliDrive , suggests adding a new component to the strategy -- road weather information (RWIS) data -- to break through the policy "chicken and egg" conundrum of whether to invest first in "smart roads" or rather in "smart cars."
The white paper outlines a research strategy for the next five years incorporating RWIS information. Noting that RWIS systems are an increasingly common infrastructure enhancement, the white paper opines:

For both road weather and environmental applications, vehicle systems may be a powerful source of new data. In the case of road weather, for example, vehicle-based data can supplement conventional weather data, primarily collected in the atmosphere, to provide more relevant and pervasive information about roadway surface conditions. For instance, activation of automatic stability control systems on multiple vehicles in a common location could indicate slippery pavement that needs treatment. Similarly, vehicle-based data may provide new information sources that could enable new transportation management techniques that are sensitive to environmental impact. For example, data generated from IntelliDrive systems may provide system operators with detailed , real-time information on the location, speed, and operating conditions of vehicles using their system. This data could enable transportation agencies to manage system operations more efficiently -- for example, by adjusting traffic signal timing to accommodate the predominant directional flow of traffic, which can save fuel and reduce environmental impact.

For snowfighters, this means that tools developed to help them speed their lifesaving emergency service of restoring roadway safety and mobility will have broader application. As slippery roads trigger the anti-skid brake systems and in-pavement "loops" detecting traffic flow document the congestion of snow- and ice-covered roads -- the primary impairment to winter safety and mobility -- these same tools used by snowfighters in managing their operations will provide a key input into our national vision for safer roads and more reliable roadway mobility.