The purpose of this project was to investigate the potential use of active systems that would automatically warn motorists of hazardous conditions through the use of variable message signs and that could actually close roads with physical barriers similar to rail crossing gates. More people are killed each year in the United States by flash floods than by any other weather-related phenomenon. The majority of these fatalities occur on roadways. Few motorists understand the potential or real danger of entering a location where water is over the road. When high water is combined with frequently fast currents, vehicles can be swept away and their occupants placed in extreme danger of drowning either in their vehicles or while trying to escape. Currently there are passive and active warning devices used to warn motorists of potential danger. None of these systems prevents motorists from entering a hazardous area. Emergency crews and highway maintenance personnel can also place barricades across a road when the water depth over the road is too high. This takes time during which motorists are at risk. Motorists are also known to ignore such barricades or move them out of the way and drive on, sometimes making a fatal mistake in so doing.
Roadway Flash Flooding Warning Devices Feasibility Study. Final Report
1999
33 pages
Report
No indication
English