Intelligent Transportation Systems and Winter Operations In Japan
FHWA International Technology Exchange Programs

September 2003

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General Information
Executive Summary
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - General Observations
Chapter 3 - Key Fndings
Chapter 4 - Conclusion
Chapter 5 - Recommendations
Chapter 6 - Implementation Plans
Appendix A: Amplifying Questions
Appendix B: Team Members
Appendix C: Host Country Contacts

Click on a link below to go to a specific topic in this summary:
Background
Objectives and Team Composition
Key Findings
Recommendations
Implementation Plans

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BACKGROUND

A number of U.S. State departments of transportation (DOTs) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) are involved in the development and field evaluation of advanced systems directed at enhancing winter road operations. This body of work is part of State and national efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of snow- and ice-control operations and to better inform motorists of wintertime driving conditions. The advanced systems under investigation include winter maintenance equipment with enhanced sensors and control devices, information systems for measuring and communicating winter road conditions, higher-resolution winter weather forecasting tools, winter maintenance decision support systems, and improved ways of alerting motorists to wintertime driving conditions and educating them on the potential dangers of driving during winter weather. Work is under way in the United States to integrate some of these advances with other aspects of transportation operations and maintenance as part of the development of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Research indicates that Japan and several European countries likewise are making significant advances in winter road operations, particularly in the areas of motorist information and system integration.

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OBJECTIVES AND TEAM COMPOSITION

The objectives of this scanning study were twofold. The first was to review and document advanced technologies, techniques, and procedures used in Japan for winter maintenance operations and the implementation of those advances within Japan's ITS architecture. The second objective was to evaluate those significant advances for potential application in the United States. To this end, the team met with representatives of four major Japanese road authorities in Hokkaido, the Civil Engineering Research Institute of Hokkaido, the Hokkaido University, private sector organizations, and two private weather agencies involved in ITS and winter operations. The team also had in-depth technical discussions on advanced technologies with European counterparts in connection with its participation in the Standing International Road Weather Commission (SIRWEC) and Permanent International Association of Road Congresses (PIARC) Conferences in Sapporo, Japan, before its meetings with the Japanese agencies and organizations.

FHWA and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) jointly sponsored the Intelligent Transportation Systems and Winter Operations in Japan Scanning Study. The delegation included representatives of FHWA; the U.S. National Weather Service; state DOTs in Idaho, Nevada, New York, and Virginia; the National Association of County Engineers (NACE) from the Henry County, Illinois, Highway Department; the American Public Works Association (APWA) from the City of Columbus, Ohio; the University of Iowa; and two private sector research agencies.

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KEY FINDINGS

The Japanese organizations visited were thorough in their preparations for the scanning team's visit and generous in sharing their experiences and advances. The visits with selected European researchers also yielded valuable information on their experiences. Based on these discussions, the team recorded many general observations and documented several key findings applicable to ITS and winter operations in the United States. Key findings include the following:

• Advanced winter maintenance equipment continues to be developed and evaluated in Japan and Europe. The equipment falls under the categories of advanced maintenance vehicle systems, automated vehicle location (AVL) and navigation systems, and vehicle-mounted performance-monitoring systems. Some equipment has advanced to the implementation stage. While several projects to evaluate equipment are under way in the United States, no agency has taken the lead in supporting and encouraging research and development of winter maintenance equipment as in other countries. Japan is exploring a number of measurement methods to determine the surface condition of snow- and ice-covered pavements. Officials believe measurements from these methods will work better than mechanical friction measurements in making winter maintenance operational decisions.
• Significant advances continue to be made in Japan and Europe on improving communication systems and protocols used between road weather information system (RWIS) sensors and operations centers. This work is part of an ITS effort to use RWIS not only for winter road management, but also for traffic information and control. A Road Web Markup Language (RWML) has been developed in Japan based on the next-generation eXtensible Markup Language (XML). In the RWML system, road-related information is grouped into four categories: road, weather, disaster, and regional information. RWML enables road weather information to be distributed easily on the Internet to personal computers (PCs) in road administration offices and maintenance garages.
• Road weather data in many countries are collected centrally, where they are combined with meteorological forecast data to provide guidance to local road maintenance and traffic control authorities. Many European countries have not yet achieved full data sharing between their RWIS sites and national meteorological agencies, but they are working toward that end. In Japan, road weather data are provided only to local private meteorological forecast companies. Also, Japan has no direct sharing of road weather condition information with other transportation modes or with agencies outside of the highway agency's jurisdiction. Outside agencies, however, can obtain the road weather information via the Internet or get e-mails by special request.
• In the United States, the term maintenance decision support system (MDSS) is used to describe a management system designed to gather, assemble, and organize information on highway conditions, winter storm conditions, and winter maintenance resources to help maintenance engineers and supervisors make effective decisions about staffing, equipment, and chemical use in support of winter maintenance operations. Both European countries and Japan are developing MDSS, portions of which are undergoing field-testing and evaluation in preparation for implementation. U.S. contact with foreign efforts is slight, and efforts of the United States and other countries to develop MDSS would be enhanced by closer contact.
• Many European countries are moving toward privatization of winter maintenance operations. The relationships between the national agencies and contractors appear to be more partnerships than sponsor-client relationships. The contractual relationships force a clear definition of wintertime service levels expected for the various road systems and lead to a method of evaluating performance of winter maintenance operations. These methods of performance evaluation can be valuable to a winter maintenance organization, even if it does not privatize operations. Several European countries have developed their own performance measures for winter maintenance operations, but no universally accepted performance measures are apparent.
• A considerable effort has been made in Hokkaido to provide wintertime travelers with information on weather and driving conditions. This information is available by various means, both before and during travel through an extensive advanced traveler information system (ATIS). Winter road conditions are available through hardwire and wireless access to various Internet Web sites via PCs and I-mode (Internet-accessible) cellular phones. The development of RWML has made it possible to distribute road weather information over the Internet. The pervasiveness of wireless communications in Japan in general, and in Hokkaido in particular, has allowed for convenient distribution of urban traveler information. For a small monthly subscription fee, the I-mode phone provides the user with Web-browsing capability that includes graphics, pictures, and text information. Road weather information also is available to the public through extensive use of dynamic message signs, road information boards, highway advisory radio (HAR), kiosk terminals, and vehicle information and communications systems (VICS). In-vehicle navigation deployment is advanced in Japan, with both original equipment manufacturer and aftermarket devices in use. Web-based ATIS is accessible in some vehicles, but it is not clear how many of the 8 million in-vehicle navigation systems in Japan contain this function.
• Driver education is taken seriously in Japan and is considered more of a social responsibility than it is in the United States. Special driver programs are offered in Hokkaido for wintertime driving conditions. A winter condition driving course is available in Hokkaido for students enrolled in driver training during milder times of the year. The Prefecture Government develops the training content and bears the cost for publicly offered driver education courses through its law enforcement branch. The Prefecture Traffic Safety Association and the Japan Automobile Federation provide the instructors. Both agencies are the primary sources for publicly available driver education. Private and professional driver education programs also exist. A road information center within a rest area of the Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau contains a variety of winter driving educational tools, including four fully functional driving simulators to demonstrate driving on three different winter roads and numerous posters and graphical displays of driving and safety topics. Winter driving information also is available for motorists on the Web and at strategically located kiosks. The Japanese government encourages motorists to use modern snow tires through winter safety programs. These tires, which use a soft rubber compound with a porous tread surface, provide superior traction on ice and snow. In the United States, the tires are marketed primarily to sports car owners.

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