A review of approaches to the study of weather’s effect on road traffic parameters

The paper describes selected research achievements into the effect of weather on road traffic from the perspective of various combinations of traffic characteristics and meteorological conditions. Studies to date have focused on different traffic parameters and changes in them as a consequence of weather variety. In making a comparative analysis, researchers identify the optimal weather conditions for road traffic and driver perception. Research in this field is conducted using a variety of data resources, backgrounds, and methodologies. The review of papers shows that results may be strongly dependent on the subject region (especially the climate zone), human behavior, and the legal framework (e.g., speed restrictions). However, the local view is important as well, and information regarding specific road attributes should not be overlooked. Comparison of the results of individual studies can be problematic owing to the myriad of different methodologies, so the description of any analysis of weather’s effect on road traffic parameters must include detailed information about the researcher’s specific approach to the problem as the following paragraphs of the paper advocate.