Microscopic and macroscopic diagnosis of the effect of winter weather conditions on distribution pattern of truck types in regional commuter road

Abstract

Abstract It has been reported in the past literature that total traffic volume and passenger car volume are affected by snowfall and cold temperature, but trucks are not significantly affected. This paper aims to confirm that the distribution of truck types is not affected by winter weather conditions through combined statistical analysis in the framework of microscopic and macroscopic impact analysis. A micro-level analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of snowfall and temperature on changes in truck type distribution. A macro-level analysis was also conducted to investigate the effect of the months (or seasons) on changes in truck type distribution. Truck traffic data were collected for 5 years at the weigh-in-motion site in Highway 2A, which is used for regional commuters near the City of Leduc, Alberta, Canada. The trucks were subdivided into straight unit truck, single trailer and multi trailer unit and then analyzed by applying a nonparametric Chi-squared test combined with the binomial probability test. As a result of the nonparametric test, the truck type distribution was stable irrespective of the severity of winter weather conditions, which are microscopic factors such as snowfall and temperature, and was not influenced by changes in months and seasons, which are macroscopic factors.

Keywords

• Truck traffic
• Inclement weather
• Regional commuter road
• Weigh in motion
• Snowfall
• Temperature