Rainfall-induced hydroplaning risk over road infrastructure of the continental USA

Abstract

Extreme rainfall causes transient ponding on roads, which increases the risk of vehicle accidents due to hydroplaning (HP), a phenomenon characterized by reduced friction between the pavement surface and the tires of moving vehicles. Before mitigation plans are drawn, it is important to first assess the spatio-temporal patterns of hydroplaning risk (HpR). This study quantifies HpR over the entire continental USA considering the coupled role of precipitation characteristics and pavement properties. Results show the southern United States to be a primary hotspot of HpR. About 22% of road sections experiencing HpR exhibit an increasing trend in the annual occurrence of HP events with time, indicating a riskier future ahead. Alarmingly, road sections that either experience higher HpR or increasing trend in annual occurrences of HP events are the ones with sizeable traffic. These results emphasize the need to prioritize HP-aware road design, traffic management, and signage in regions with high or fast-evolving risks.

Imprint of urbanization on snow precipitation over the continental USA

“…As more data becomes available, future studies may consider these details to provide a more refined understanding of their impacts. Considering that alterations in snow vs. rain precipitation can have wide-ranging impacts, such as on water supply 1 , flood risk 6 and its quantification 26 , traffic operations and safety 21,22 , water quality 23 , and drought and its prediction 49 , the results of this study emphasize the importance of considering the influence of urbanization on snow precipitation characteristics while projecting influences on the aforementioned variables. Importantly, failing to consider the potential influences of urbanization on the characteristics of snow precipitation could lead to incomplete or ineffective projections of the hydrometeorological risks it presents.…”

“…In addition, changes in snow vs. rain frequency and/or amount have the potential to also impact the timing and magnitude of seasonal and diurnal peak flows 8,9 , summer baseflows 10 , evapotranspiration 11 , nutrient cycling 12,13 , land-atmosphere feedback 14 , soil erosion 15 , vegetation responses 16 , orographic precipitation generation 17 , and a host of other coupled ecosystem processes and functions 18,19 . Especially within the urban regions, the phase of precipitation also influences traffic mobility 20 and road accident risks 21,22 , frequency and intensity of deicing salt application and its consequent impacts on water quality 23 , contamination from runoff 24,25 , and vulnerability from extreme hydro-meteorological events 26 . While the influence of climate variations and changes on the likelihood of snow vs. rain has been studied extensively 2,3,27,28 , whether, to what extent, and where urbanization impacts precipitation phase over the continental USA (CONUS) remains unknown.…”

Estimation of Road Wetness from a Passenger Car

“…Mainly, when the water depth is so low-for instance, under a drizzle or after a precipitation-the road has an apparent safe aspect and the driver is tempted to adopt inappropriate maneuvers such as driving fast. The friction reduction and the driver's biased perception can have dramatic consequences, as indicated by statistics of accidents related to rainfall [3][4][5][6][7] and especially when they occur on just wet roads [5,7].…”

Estimation of Water Depth on Road Surfaces Using Accelerometric Signals

“…It is well known that the presence of water on a road surface affects drivers' safety. While many studies have been dedicated to the link between precipitation, even at light intensity, and vehicle crashes [1][2][3][4], statistical analyses [4][5][6][7] also show that the accident risk is still high after a rainfall. The higher accident risk on wet roads depends on two concurrent factors: the reduction of the road surface skid resistance and the drivers' perception.…”