Project Summary

The proposed study supports a project sponsored by Maine DOT titled as “Road Salt Impact Assessment.” Winter weather and maintenance treatments have significant impact on highway safety and operations. Understanding the safety impact of these factors directly influence decisions on diminishing maintenance funds, and cost-benefit analysis of alternative maintenance strategies. This research will conduct exploratory analysis of fatal (K), injury (ABC), and property damage only (PDO) crashes in Maine. Models will be developed to explore to what extent seasonal (i.e., winter vs. non-winter) and monthly weather factors impact frequency of lane departure crashes in Maine. The proposed research will also analyze the impact of different roadway, driver, and weather factors on the severity of single-vehicle lane departure crashes on rural roadways in Maine.