Adverse weather conditions and fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States, 1994-2012

Abstract

BackgroundMotor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of injury mortality. Adverse weather and road conditions have the potential to affect the likelihood of motor vehicle fatalities through several pathways. However, there remains a dearth of assessments associating adverse weather conditions to fatal crashes in the United States. We assessed trends in motor vehicle fatalities associated with adverse weather and present spatial variation in fatality rates by state.MethodsWe analyzed the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) datasets from 1994 to 2012 produced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that contains reported weather information for each fatal crash. For each year, we estimated the fatal crashes that were associated with adverse weather conditions. We stratified these fatalities by months to examine seasonal patterns. We calculated state-specific rates using annual vehicle miles traveled data for all fatalities and for those related to adverse weather to examine spatial variations in fatality rates. To investigate the role of adverse weather as an independent risk factor for fatal crashes, we calculated odds ratios for known risk factors (e.g., alcohol and drug use, no restraint use, poor driving records, poor light conditions, highway driving) to be reported along with adverse weather.ResultsTotal and adverse weather-related fatalities decreased over 1994–2012. Adverse weather-related fatalities constituted about 16 % of total fatalities on average over the study period. On average, 65 % of adverse weather-related fatalities happened between November and April, with rain/wet conditions more frequently reported than snow/icy conditions. The spatial distribution of fatalities associated with adverse weather by state was different than the distribution of total fatalities. Involvement of alcohol or drugs, no restraint use, and speeding were less likely to co-occur with fatalities during adverse weather conditions.ConclusionsWhile adverse weather is reported for a large number of motor vehicle fatalities for the US, the type of adverse weather and the rate of associated fatality vary geographically. These fatalities may be addressed and potentially prevented by modifying speed limits during inclement weather, improving road surfacing, ice and snow removal, and providing transit alternatives, but the impact of potential interventions requires further research.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12940-016-0189-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Dilemma of Road Safety in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia: Consequences and Prevention Strategies

“…A previous study conducted for the nearby city of Riyadh also indicated that on average non-intersection crashes were more fatal compared to intersection crashes [59]. Similarly, the probability of low crash fatality on a rainy day having a large negative value for coefficient (β = −2.532) also appears conflicting to previous studies [60][61][62]. However, it can be argued from several previous studies that inclement weather may cause a significant reduction in vehicle speed [63][64][65].…”

Prevalence of speeding and associated factors in four Mexican cities

“…It is well known that bad weather can influence the occurrence of RTIs in various ways: it decreases the visibility of the host, increases the reaction time and braking distance of the agent and affects the immediate environment, particularly road surfaces. 5 22 According to the US Department of Transportation, fog can inhibit the abilities and visibility of drivers as well as the traction and stability of cars, thus heightening the risk of traffic collisions. 23 While it has not been demonstrated that speeding in cloudy/foggy conditions increases the risk of traffic collisions and RTIs, it has been found that even drivers who follow the speed limit are more vulnerable to crashes in poor weather conditions and other adverse circumstances.…”

Technical Determinant of Road Accident: A Systematic Review

“…Firstly in terms of the road surface quality, most of the studies (n = 7) conducted in several countries like Saudi Arabia, US, Mexico, China, Canada and India reported that wet road surface significantly caused road accident [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Apart from that, slippery road has been reported to lead the accident causation especially in US and several other countries like Finland, Malaysia and Iran [10,[12][13][14][15][16]. Moreover, three studies conducted in China and a study conducted in Malaysia reported that asphalt-paved road with smoother surface is also prone to cause road accident [17][18][19][20].…”

“…Secondly, in terms of road condition, most of the studies (n = 10) reported that driving on dark lighting road or road with no street light can significantly cause road accident in several countries like Saudi Arabia, China, Thailand, Pakistan and the US [5,6,8,16,20,[24][25][26][27][28]. Besides, nine included studies reported that the absence of road marking and other road signs as well as alert system such as the sign of speed limit have been reported to cause the occurrence of road accident [17,20,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30].…”