Citation

Ashley WS, Strader S, Dziubla DC, Haberlie AM. Bull. Am. Meterol. Soc. 2014; 96(5): 755-778.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, American Meteorological Society, Publisher Allen Press)

DOI

10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00026.1

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Visibility-related weather hazards have significant impacts on motor vehicle operators due to decreased driver vision, reduced roadway speed, amplified speed variability, and elevated crash risk. This research presents a national analysis of fog-, smoke-, and dust storm-associated vehicular fatalities in the U.S. Initially, a database of weather-related motor vehicle crash fatalities from 1994-2011 is constructed from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data. Thereafter, spatiotemporal analyses of visibility-related (crashes where a vision hazard was reported at time of event) and vision-obscured (driver's vision was recorded as obscured by weather and a weather-related vision hazard was reported) fatal vehicular crashes are presented.

RESULTS reveal that the annual number of fatalities associated with weather-related vision obscured vehicular crashes is comparable to those of more notable and captivating hazards such as tornadoes, floods, tropical cyclones, and lightning. The majority of these vision-obscured crash fatalities occurred in fog, on State and U.S. Numbered Highways, during the cool season, and during the morning commuting hours of 5 to 8 AM local time. Areas that experience the greatest frequencies of vision-obscured fatal crashes are located in the Central Valley of California, Appalachian Mountain and Mid-Atlantic region, the Midwest, and along the Gulf Coast. From 2007-2011, 72% of all vision-obscured fatal crashes occurred when there was no National Weather Service weather-related visibility advisory in effect. The deadliest weather-related visibility hazard crashes during the period are exhibited, revealing a spectrum of environmental and geographical settings that can trigger these high-end events. Capsule: The death toll from motor vehicle crashes due to weather-related vision hazards exceeds the number of fatalities caused by more notable hazards such as tornadoes, floods, tropical cyclones, and lightning.

Language: en