Yahoo Autos Study Shows Even Light Rain Increases Risk of Traffic Fatalities
A new weather study, created using radar analysis rather than traditional weather-station data, shows a correlation between deadly car accidents and wet weather.
Rain increases the risk of a fatal car crash by 34 percent, the study found.
Northern areas of the Rocky Mountains and the Midwest, and winter driving featuring freezing rain or snow, are most affected by the accident risk.
A new study from the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies shows that fatal traffic accidents are 34 percent more likely during "precipitation events" and 27 percent more likely even in light rain.
“We’re talking a drizzle, just at the point where you might consider taking an umbrella out,” said study author Scott Stevens in an interview with the Associated Press. “People slow down when it starts to rain heavily, but I think they underappreciate the risk of light rain."
The study analyzed 125,012 accidents with fatalities in the United States between 2006 and 2011 while also looking at weather patterns during the time when the crashes occurred. Past studies have relied on police reports and the nearest weather station to estimate rainfall, but this study, using high-resolution radar data analysis, was able to more accurately pinpoint what types of weather events cause the largest increase.
The likelihood of a deadly accident is still higher in heavy-precipitation weather events, but the fact that the study showed such a spike with just light rain is more shocking. It also shows that accident risk due to wet weather is highest during morning rush-hour travel and in the winter.
Areas of the country most susceptible to the spike in traffic accidents due to weather include northern parts of the Midwest and the Rocky Mountain region, likely because of more snow. Risks proved to be slightly lower in the southeastern and northeastern United States.
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