Instructions:

Record the appropriate code for road surface conditions at the time of the crash.

Definition:

The roadway surface condition at the time and place of a crash.

Rationale:

It is important to identify and correct high wet-surface crash locations and provide information for setting coefficient of pavement friction standards. This is critical for prevention programs and engineering evaluations.

Code Attribute Definition Example
1 Dry Describes a roadway surface dry, and otherwise is not wet and not covered with water, snow, ice, sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel, slush or another substance.
2 Wet Describes a roadway surface covered with water from rain or melted snow.
3 Snow Describes a roadway surface covered with snow.
4 Ice Describes a roadway surface covered with ice. This includes a roadway covered with ice from freezing rain.
5 Sand, Mud, Dirt, Oil, Gravel Indicates the presence of sand, mud, dirt, oil or gravel on the surface of the roadway at the crash location, not the surface type of the roadway by design.
6  Water (Standing or Moving)  Describes a roadway surface that is covered with an excessive amount of water, usually attributed to flooding and typically localized.
7 Slush Accumulated snow or ice that has partially melted.
97 Other If this attribute is used, an explanation in the narrative is recommended. This would include spilled substances such as grain, wet leaves, and liquids other than those listed above.
99 Unknown If this attribute is used, an explanation in the narrative is recommended.

Reminder!

In some circumstances, the road surface conditions may differ from weather, such as in a tunnel or under a bridge.

Accuracy Checks

  • If the value of Road Surface is ‘dry,’ Weather Condition cannot be ‘rain’, ‘snow’, ‘sleet’, ‘hail’, or ‘freezing rain’. Note: This may not apply in unusual locations, such as a tunnel.
  • If the crash occurred between May and September, the value of Road Surface Condition should not be ‘snow’, ‘ice’, or ‘slush’.

Other Related Fields

Weather Conditions

Data Quality Audit Results

Report Type Acceptable Inconsistent Invalid Empty
Local Police (electronic) 347 98.0% 7 2.0%
Local Police (paper) 348 96.9% 3 0.8% 1 0.3% 7 1.9%
State Police (electronic) 330 99.1% 2 0.6% 1 0.3%
Total 1025 98.0% 5 0.5% 1 0.1% 15 1.4%