Drivers' awareness of and response to significant weathe

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OMB Control No. 0648-xxxx
Expires xx/xx/xxxx

Drivers' Awareness of and Response to Significant Weather Events
and the Correlation of Weather to Road Impacts

I’m calling on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National
Weather Service, the University of Utah, and the Utah Department of Transportation. I’d like to
ask you a few questions about your driving, but first I need to make sure you are somewhere
safe to talk on the telephone. Are you driving right now?
If “No,” continue below (A).
If “Yes”: Sorry, I cannot interview you while you are driving. We’ll call you at another time.
Thank you. Good Bye.
A. The purpose of this interview is to learn how people respond to weather reports about driving
conditions. We are doing this study to improve how weather reports are given to the public.
Before we begin, I need to make sure you are eligible to participate.
Are you 18 or over ? No Yes
Do you have a driver’s license for driving in Utah? No Yes
Do you live in one of these areas: South Davis, Salt Lake or Summit County? No Yes
Do you travel regularly in the Salt Lake Valley? No Yes
If “No” to any of these, end the interview “I’m sorry, you are not eligible, thank you for your time”.
If yes to all four: “You are eligible to participate. Let me briefly explain our survey.”
I would like to ask you 10 to 15 questions which will take less than 10 minutes. Your
participation is voluntary, and you are free to skip any questions you choose not to answer.
There are no immediate benefits to you for participating, but your answers will help us improve
weather reporting in the state.
Personal information will not be saved or shared. We are not recording your name or telephone
number; we use only code numbers in our data file. This interview might be audio-recorded for
quality control and to check your answers to open-ended questions. The tapes will be destroyed
once we are certain we have accurately typed up your responses.
You can call the researcher, Carol Werner at 801 581 8938 or you can contact the Institutional
Review Board if you have questions regarding your rights as a research participant. Also,
contact the Review Board if you have questions, complaints or concerns which you do not feel
you can discuss with the interviewer. The University of Utah’s Institutional Review Board may be
reached by phone at (801) 581-3655 or by e-mail at irb@hsc.utah.edu.
Are you willing to participate in this survey? We would appreciate your help.
1. In the past few years have you used the bus or TRAX to travel in Salt Lake County?
No
Yes
Don’t remember
2. In the past few years, have you carpooled to travel in Salt Lake County?
No
Yes
Don’t remember

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Now I’d like to ask you some questions about your travel yesterday:
3. Did you travel yesterday in Salt Lake County?
No
Yes
Don’t remember
If “NO” go to 4, 5 and 6
If “YES” go to 7, 8 and 9
If “DON’T REMEMBER” Probe: Take a moment to think about whether you went out yesterday.
If respondent still does not remember, end interview.
4. Did you NOT travel in Salt Lake because of the storm and driving conditions? No
5. Did you NOT travel because your work or school was closed yesterday?
No
6. Did you NOT travel for other reasons (If yes, specify) _______________________
GO TO 9a

Yes
Yes

7. Which mode did you use MOST for traveling yesterday? Did you drive, carpool, or use transit?
Drove
carpooled
used transit
8. What were your reasons for traveling yesterday?
8a. Did you commute to or from work or school?
No
Yes
8b. Did you travel to or from a recreation spot?
No
Yes
8c. Did you travel to or from health care or other appointments
No
Yes
8d. Did you travel for other reasons, such as errands, to see friends or entertainment? No Yes
9. Before you traveled, were you aware that a winter storm was coming?
No
Yes
Don’t know/don’t remember
If “No” or “Don’t know/Don’t remember,” go to 11
If “YES” go to 10
9a. Before you decided NOT to travel yesterday, were you aware that a winter storm was coming?
No
Yes
Don’t know/Don’t remember
If “NO” or “Don’t know/Don’t remember” go to 17
If “YES” go to 10
10. We’d like to know how people learned about the storm. I’m going to read you a list of sources that
provide weather information. Please tell me which sources provided you with information before or
during the storm yesterday:
10a. Could you see it was snowing before you began your trip?
No
Yes
Don’t know/don’t remember
10b. Did you learn the storm was coming from one of the local TV weather reporters – not a
national broadcast, but a local TV weather report ?
No
Yes
Don’t know/don’t remember
10c. Did you learn the storm was coming from a nationwide news or weather broadcast?
No
Yes
Don’t know/don’t remember
10d. Did you learn the storm was coming from a local radio station?

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No

Yes

Don’t know/don’t remember

10e. Did you learn the storm was coming from NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (also called
NWR)?
No
Yes
Don’t know/Don’t remember
If Yes, continue here 10e1.
If “no” or “Don’t know/Don’t remember” go to 10f.
10e1. How satisfied were you with the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards service
information?
satisfied
dissatisfied
A mix of satisfied and dissatisfied
10f. Did you learn the storm was coming from a friend, family member or neighbor?
No
Yes
Don’t know/Don’t remember
10g. Did you learn the storm was coming by dialing UDOT’s 511 service?
No
Yes
Don’t know/Don’t remember
If Yes, continue here 10g1.
If “No” or “Don’t know/Don’t remember”, go to next question 10h
10g1. How satisfied were you with the UDOT 511 service information?
satisfied
dissatisfied
A mix of satisfied and dissatisfied
10h. Did you learn the storm was coming from a message to your mobile device?
No
Yes
Don’t know/don’t remember
For any answer, continue with 10i.
10i. Did you learn the storm was coming by going online?
No
Yes
Don’t know/Don’t remember
If “No,” or “Don’t know/Don’t remember,” go to 11
If Yes, continue here 10i1.
10i1. Did you login to the UDOT CommuterLink website?
No
Yes
Don’t know/Don’t remember
If “No,” or “Don’t know/Don’t remember” go to 10i2
If Yes continue here 10i1a:
10i1a. How satisfied were you with the UDOT CommuterLink information?
satisfied
dissatisfied
A mix of satisfied and dissatisfied
10i2. Did you login to the National Weather Service website?
No
Yes
Don’t know/don’t remember
If “No” or “Don’t know/Don’t remember,” go to 11
If Yes, continue here 10i2a:

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10i2a. How satisfied were you with the National Weather Service website?
satisfied
dissatisfied
A mix of satisfied and dissatisfied
The next questions ask your views about the storm.
11. I understood the possible impacts of the winter storm based on the information that I had
Completely agree
Somewhat agree
Neutral
Somewhat Disagree
Completely Disagree
12. Which of the following best represents your feelings about the storm’s severity?
The storm was less severe than I expected
The storm was as severe as I expected
The storm was more severe than I expected
13. Across all your sources of information, how satisfied were you with the information that you
received about the winter storm and driving conditions?
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
Somewhat dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied

FOR PEOPLE WHO TRAVELED (said “Yes” to #3, regardless of their answers to the “Knowledge”
questions):
14. In which -- if any -- of the following ways did you change your travel because of the storm?
14a. Did you change your route? No Yes
14b. Did you change your travel schedule – did you leave earlier or later than usual? No Yes
14c. Did you use transit such as TRAX, Front Runner train or a bus instead of driving? No Yes
15. Did any of the following influence you to change your travel?
15a. Was your decision influenced by the actual weather at the time?
15b. Was your decision influenced by the weather forecast?
15c. Was your decision influenced by known road closures?
15d. Was your decision influenced by known road conditions?

16. Is there anything else that would have led you to change your travel to avoid driving during the
storm? (open ended)

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17. WE HAVE A FEW QUICK QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND. THESE WILL ALLOW US TO
COMPARE OUR SAMPLE TO THE GENERAL POPULATION ALONG THE WASATCH FRONT:
A. In what city do you live? _________________________
B. What is your zip code?_____________________________
[Interviewer: Do not read the names – mark the response. If the city is not on the list, type the name in
the space above.]
Bacchus ___
Bingham ___
Bluffdale___
Bountiful___
Butlerville___
Centerville___
Cottonwood Heights___
Crescent___
Draper___
Farmington___

Grantsville___
Herriman___
Holladay___
Hunter___
Kearns___
Kimball Junction___
LakePoint___
Lark___
Magna___
Midvale___

Mills Junction___
Murray___
North Salt Lake___
Park City___
Riverton___
Salt Lake City___
Sandy___
Snyderville___
South Jordan___
South Salt Lake___

Tooele___
West Jordan___
West Valley City___
Woods Cross___

C. WHAT IS YOUR AGE? _____
D. ARE YOU MALE OR FEMALE? M F
E. WHAT IS YOUR ETHNIC GROUP OR RACE?
WHITE HISPANIC
AFRICAN AMERICAN
ASIAN TONGAN/SAMOAN/PACIFIC ISLANDS
NATIVE AMERICAN OTHER:
F. ARE YOU EMPLOYED OUTSIDE THE HOME?
CURRENTLY EMPLOYED FULL OR PART-TIME RETIRED NOT EMPLOYED OUTSIDE HOME
G. HOW MANY YEARS OF SCHOOL HAVE YOU COMPLETED? _____
H. ARE YOU CURRENTLY A FULL OR PART-TIME STUDENT? NO YES
I. FOR HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU DRIVEN IN SNOWY CONDITIONS? _____
J. WHAT IS YOUR HOUSEHOLD INCOME PER YEAR? ___________
CLOSING: Thank you so much for your help. We really appreciate it.
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 6 minutes per
response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources,
gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of
information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other suggestions for
reducing this burden to Carol Werner, University of Utah Department of Psychology, via
carol.werner@psych.utah.edu.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall
any person be subjected to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information
subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection of
information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.

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