Roads that are safe in all weathers are a prerequisite of modern society, and large amounts of money have to be spent, especially in winter, by highway authorities to make travel safe. Climatic factors like fog frequency have to be taken into account in planning the route that a road will follow. The operation and maintenance of the road network requires that weather information be taken into account if measures like preventative salting and top dressing are to be successfully carried out. Particularly in the field of winter maintenance of highways a range of new technology has recently become available that is revolutionizing the work of the highway engineer. Ice detection systems, thermal mapping and weather radars are being introduced or considered by many authorities, in the UK, Europe and North America. There is an interest in the performance, reliability and cost-benefits to be gained from employing the new technology. This book should be of interest to highway engineers and surveyors in highway authorities, consultant climatologists and meteorologists, also academic institutions where highway, transportation and environmental hazard studies and geography are taught.

Roads that are safe in all weathers are a prerequisite of modern society, and large amounts of money are spent, especially in winter, to make travel safe. This book brings together international expertise on planning 'weather proof' roads, operating safe road networks in bad weather and coping effectively with accidents. The performance and cost effectiveness of new technology (ice detection systems, thermal mapping, weather radar etc) are reviewed.