Transports Québec will be using new, simplified terminology to describe separate roadway and visibility conditions on Québec 511 beginning in the 2012–2013 winter season. This new terminology aims to provide road users with reliable information about these two distinct types of conditions in order to facilitate winter travel decision making.
When first introduced by the ministère des Transports fifty years ago, road condition information was immediately well-received. The dissemination of information has steadily improved with advancements in technology. It is now time for the terminology to be reviewed and simplified.
Terminology and definitions
Below are the new terms that were tested with road users and retained by Transports Québec for use on Québec 511. The goal is to allow users to make informed decisions about winter driving hazards. After having consulted a variety of sources of information on meteorological, roadway and visibility conditions, drivers will be able to adapt their driving accordingly.
This new terminology will also allow departmental communications staff and media outlets to provide all road users with accurate road condition information.
Roadway Conditions
Bare and dry
All wheels of a vehicle are on a bare and dry surface over an important part of a given road segment.
Bare and wet
All wheels of a vehicle are on a bare and wet surface over an important part of a given road segment.
Partly snow covered
The wheels on one side of a vehicle are on a snow-covered surface over an important part of a given road segment, while the wheels on the other side of the vehicle are on a bare surface.
Partly snow packed
The wheels on one side of a vehicle are on a snow-packed surface over an important part of a given road segment, while the wheels on the other side of the vehicle are on a bare surface.
Partly ice covered
The wheels on one side of a vehicle are on an ice-covered surface over an important part of a given road segment, while the wheels on the other side of the vehicle are on a bare surface.
Snow covered
All wheels of a vehicle are on a snow-covered surface over an important part of a given road segment.
Snow packed
All wheels of a vehicle are on a snow-packed surface over an important part of a given road segment.
Ice covered
All wheels of a vehicle are on an ice-covered surface over an important part of a given road segment.
Closed
The given road segment is closed.
Snowdrifts
Regardless of road conditions, snowdrifts may accumulate across the lanes of a given road segment. When snowdrifts develop on a portion or across the entire width of one or more lanes, comments indicate that there are snowdrifts.
Visibility conditions
Driving conditions are always impacted by visibility. Three visibility conditions are reported:
Good
Fair
Poor
Snowfall, mist rising off of a watercourse, fog and blowing snow can reduce visibility. These visibility-reducing elements influence the conditions that are reported to drivers.
Good visibility
Visibility is more than 500 m over the entire given road segment.
Fair visibility
Visibility is between 250 m and 500 m in specific areas or over a large portion of a given road segment.
Poor visibility
Visibility is less than 250 m in specific areas or over a large portion of a given road segment.
The Colour system used
Three colours are used to indicate roadway and visibility conditions for each road segment for which conditions are reported on the Québec 511 website of the ministère des Transports.
A bare roadway is indicated by the colour black.
A partly covered roadway is indicated by the colour yellow.
A covered roadway is indicated by the colour white.
These three colours were chosen particularly because they can be distinguished by people suffering from colour-blindness. Two of the colours—black and white—are colours that road users are accustomed to seeing in the wintertime. In winter, bare roadways are black, so black was chosen to represent bare roadway conditions. Likewise, white was chosen to represent covered or packed roadway conditions, because roadways are white when covered or packed with snow or ice.
After assessing the range of colours that colour-blind people can distinguish, yellow was chosen to represent roadways that are partly covered.
Furthermore, red lines and a “no entry” symbol are used to indicate that road segments are closed.
Roadway conditions will be indicated as follows:
Bare = black line Partly covered = yellow line Covered = white line Closed = red line and no entry symbol
Visibility conditions will be indicated using black, yellow and white circles.
Good visibility = black circle Fair visibility = yellow circle Poor visibility = white circle
