MnDOT improves descriptions of winter road conditions
Travelers will have a better understanding of road conditions using the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s (MnDOT) improved winter road condition descriptions on the 511mn.org website and smartphone app.
The old winter road descriptions were- “good,” “fair,” “difficult” and “hazardous/travel not advised.”
The new descriptions will be – “normal,” “partially covered,” “completely covered,” “travel not advised” and “closed.”
The changes were made because the previous descriptions were subjective and the public didn’t always understand or look at the meanings listed on the 511 website, according to Kelly Braunig, 511 coordinator. “We were getting a fair amount of complaints,” she said. “An interpretation of good or fair might be completely different from person-to-person. We listened to our users and made improvements.”
Braunig looked at what other states in the area used as descriptions for winter road conditions and adopted those from Iowa. “We think the public will have a better understanding of the terms now,” Braunig said. “It’s easier to understand that roads are ‘partially covered’ rather than ‘fair,’ or ‘completely covered’ instead of ‘difficult.’”
More details of each road condition description are available at http://hb.511mn.org/RoadConditions.htm.
“We encourage people to use other resources, such as radio, television and weather apps, to make decisions about traveling,” Braunig said. “We think the public will appreciate these improvements to our 511 system.”
These changes are part of Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton’s administration-wide effort to implement “Plain Language” when communicating with Minnesotans.
