Who says we can't control the weather?

By: Drivers.com staff
Date: Tuesday, 13. February 2007

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If you drive on the new Smart Road in Virginia, USA, you will definitely want to be on the alert. It could become dawn, dusk, rainy, foggy, or even snowy at any time. That's because several government departments have created this special test road to simulate various driving conditions to improve highway safety. The Smart Road is a 1.7-mile, two-lane road with 75 rotating weather towers that can produce two inches of rain or four inches of snow per hour. Precipitation can vary from light mist to a driving blizzard. The road will eventually reach 9 kilometers, with hills and several bridges. It will be used for many research projects: pavement and lighting design and markings; advanced ultraviolet headlamps, and the potential for driver overconfidence while using them; rear signaling systems; training snowplow operators; assessing driver workload and overload; anti- and de-icing techniques, and many others.

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