Roadway winter maintenance trucks, commonly referred to as snowplows, operate in hazardous traffic conditions and pose a rear-end collision risk for motorists following them. In this study, a new prototype rear-end collision avoidance and mitigation system (CAMS) was tested on snowplows. The system, which detects position and speed of vehicles following the snowplow via a radar sensor and warns hazardous approaching situations via a flashing beacon light, was tested for its efficacy, operational effectiveness, economic viability, and impact on the followers' driving behavior. To this end, data were collected with two CAMS-equipped snowplows in the winter of 2018 in southeast Michigan and analyzed for the effect of the warning light.Results generally favor the hypothesis that CAMS may improve traffic safety conditions by decreasing the likelihood of following drivers approaching too close to the plow, decreasing their reaction time by 0.83 seconds, increasing their average minimum time to collision by 0.24 seconds, and decreasing their maximum deceleration rate by 0.17 ft/s2.It is, however, also recognized that this technology needs more testing and operational improvements for practical feasibility. Recommendations include improving the sensor cleaning system, reducing vehicle detection error (particularly in the adjacent lane), and including distance-based thresholds in the warning activation mechanism to prevent tailgating.
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