Road Weather Monitoring System Shows High Cost-Effectiveness in Mitigating Malfunction Losses

Jingyan Wu, Saini Yang, Feng Yang and Xihui Yin
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Jingyan Wu: Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Natural Disaster of Ministry of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Saini Yang: Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Natural Disaster of Ministry of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Feng Yang: Highway Monitoring and Response Center, Ministry of Transport of China, Beijing 100029, China
Xihui Yin: Highway Monitoring and Response Center, Ministry of Transport of China, Beijing 100029, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-13

Abstract: Understanding the environmental impacts of road networks and the success of policy initiatives is crucial to a country’s socioeconomic development. In this study, we propose a comprehensive approach to quantitatively assessing whether a given response is effective in mitigating the impacts of environmental shocks on roads. Our approach includes factor analysis, direct and indirect loss quantification, and cost-benefit analysis. Using nationwide data on road malfunctions and weather service performance in China, we found that the macro-level indirect economic losses from road malfunctions were more than the direct losses in multiples ranging from 11 to 21, and that information provided by the weather service could reduce losses, with benefits exceeding costs by a ratio of 51. The results of our study provide a quantitative tool as well as evidence of the effectiveness of sustainability investment, which should provide guidance for future disaster mitigation, infrastructure system resilience, and sustainability-building policy-making.

Keywords: disaster management; loss quantification; weather service; sustainable transportation; sustainability investment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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