Changes in Travel Behavior in Response to Weather Conditions: Do Type of Weather and Trip Purpose Matter

Weather can influence travel demand, traffic flow, and traffic safety. A hypothesis—the type of weather determined the likelihood of a change in travel behavior, and changes in travel behavior because of weather conditions depended on trip purpose—was assayed. A stated adaptation study was conducted in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium). A survey, completed by 586 respondents, was administered both on the Internet and as a traditional paper-and-pencil questionnaire. To ensure optimal correspondence between the survey sample composition and the Flemish population, observations in the sample were weighted. To test the main hypotheses, Pearson chi-square independence tests were performed. Results from both the descriptive analysis and the independence tests confirm that the type of weather matters and that changes in travel behavior in response to these weather conditions are highly dependent on trip purpose. This dependence of behavioral adjustments on trip purpose provides policy makers with a deeper understanding of how weather conditions affect traffic. Further generalizations of the findings are possible by shifting the scope toward revealed travel behavior. Triangulation of both stated and revealed travel behavior on the one hand and traffic intensities on the other hand is a key challenge for further research.