Road Weather Information Service in Finland The Impact of Error Probability on Service Benefits

Road weather information services are provided to road users to improve their safety and mobility. In Finland, the information on current and forecasted road weather has been available to road users since the 1990s and along with developments in technology and service provision, the quality of the information provided to the road users has improved over time. While the overall successfulness of the road weather information service has been analyzed during several recent winter seasons, the impact of the improved service quality on the socio-economical benefits of the service has not been analyzed. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between the changes in service quality and the socio-economical benefits. The focus of the various elements of service quality was set on the veracity of the information, which is defined as the error probability in this case. The service benefits were quantified on the basis of the relationship between service output and behavioral reaction-related impacts on safety. In addition, the costs of the service were described at two levels of service quality.