Analysis of Traffic Characteristics of General National Roads by Snowfall in Gangwon-do

To investigate the effect of snowfall on the traffic of general roads in Gangwon-do, case analysis was performed in Gangneung, Pyeongchang, and Chuncheon using ASOS (Automated Synoptic Observing System) snowfall data and VDS (Vehicle Detector System) traffic data. First, we analyzed how much the traffic volume and speed decrease in snowfall cases on regional roads compared to non-snow cases, and the characteristics of monthly reduction due to snowfall were investigated. In addition, Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis were performed to quantitatively grasp the effect of snowfall on traffic volume and speed, and sensitivity tests for snowfall intensity and cumulative snowfall were performed. The results showed that the amount of snowfall caused decrease both in the traffic volume and speed from usual (non-snowfall) condition. However, the trend was different by region: The decrease rate in traffic volume was in the order of Gangneung (17 similar to 22%), Chuncheon (14 similar to 17%), and Pyeongchang (11 similar to 14%). The decrease rate in traffic speed was in the order of Chuncheon (9 similar to 10%), Gangneung (8 similar to 9%), Pyeongchang (5 similar to 6%). No significant results were found in the monthly decrease rate analysis. In all regions, traffic volume and speed showed a negative correlation with snowfall. It was confirmed that the greater the amount of traffic entering the road, the greater the slope of the trend line indicating the change in snowfall due to the traffic volume. As a result of the sensitivity test for snowfall intensity and cumulative snowfall, the snowfall information at intervals of 6-hours was the most significant.