Literature Review
The literature review makes it clear that there are direct and dynamic links between severe and fatal road accidents and such factors as weather conditions, driver behavior and skills, road regulation, traffic management, and road design. The evaluated sources were devoted to the investigation of diverse road accident factors based on the official reports from different countries, including Canada, the USA, Australia, Africa, the UAE, the United Kingdom, and some other European countries.
The literature analysis reveals that although weather conditions can be regarded as one of the major causes of severe accidents, driving habits, authorities’ capability to enhance road and traffic situation, road and automobile management, as well as drivers’ psychological and physiological health, largely affects the development of possibilities for accident occurrence.
Weather and other natural conditions such as lighting or geographical peculiarities are essential road safety factors. Many researchers observe that heavy precipitation, frazil, or excess moisture covering a road may result in a low level of road friction and may consequently significantly increase the risks of fatal accident occurrence. It is possible to say that rural areas are associated with higher rates of severe accidents due to poor road management and design – failure to construct a safe road and put a sufficient number of lighting sources – which redouble the potentially hazardous effects of poor weather.
The findings have significant theoretical and practical implications as they emphasize the importance of road regulation policy initiation and improvement of infrastructure management strategies. Since efficient road design is interrelated with lower vehicle collision rates, the enhancement of road conditions, e.g., provision of sufficient lighting, surface road lining, road signs supply, etc., may help to decrease accident rates in the districts associated with higher risks for drivers’ lives.
The conducted research reveals that it is important to pay greater attention to driver education and, to enforce the maintenance of driving responsibilities, the evidence-based knowledge-building campaigns can be administered. It is important to inform drivers about potential threats of driving in poor weather conditions. At the same time, the researchers claim that poor driving habits, such as driving while intoxicated, speed driving, or non-utilization of seat belts, significantly contribute to the overall accident rates increase. Moreover, the researchers suggest that drivers’ age and their psychological health conditions affect driving outcomes.
For example, as it was mentioned in the body of the literature review, both younger and elderly vehicle drivers are more prone to getting into traffic collisions. The adult or more elderly population tends to be anxious while driving due to the previous adverse experiences on the road, and it impedes the efficiency of their driving. But the younger drivers get into accidents primarily because of the lack of driving experience. The role of legal, regulatory initiatives in controlling unlicensed driving cannot be underestimated. Moreover, it is important to raise drivers’ awareness regarding different risk factors and enforce their education through governmental programs and legal regulations.
The development of adequate driving behavior through conveying information about hazardous weather conditions, psychological factors (excess stress and anxiety), principles of safe driving and their impacts on traffic conditions, and interrelations with severe accident frequency may provoke a significant decline in weather-related accident rates. Based on this, it is possible to conclude that the findings obtained through the further research of weather-related road accidents and their correlation with other risk factors of driver behavior and road management can contribute to the development of public awareness by providing evidence that will support drivers’ education and adoption of adequate infrastructure management strategies, and legal control initiatives.
Accident Report Analysis
Although for the period of past five years, the accident frequency and the number of casualties has slightly declined both at the national level of the UK and the localized level of Greater Manchester, the review of the statistical data makes it clear that a significant number of fatal accidents occur due to poor weather conditions and inappropriate driving behavior.
The major factors that create barriers to driving safety in the UK include high speed and reckless driving, infrastructural defects, loss of control, weather or lighting conditions, and inability to adhere to adverse natural conditions while driving. Serious and fatal accidents are prevailing in the UK statistical reports, and a large part of accident casualties are pedestrians. Thus, the identification of major risk factors of accidents is of great importance as it may help to prevent mortality rates increase.
The given research aimed to identify the correlations between weather conditions (wet-dry) and the variables of the speed limit, lighting, drivers’ age, and degree of accidents’ severity by analyzing the statistical data (number of accidents) collected through official accident reports. The analysis results make it clear that there is a direct link between weather and lighting conditions. It is observed that the combination of wet weather and darkness causes over 25% of vehicle collisions comparing to 13.90% of cases that happen in the darkness while the weather is dry.
The findings demonstrate that the lack of sufficient lighting resources significantly interferes with automobile navigation, frequently causing severe and fatal accidents. At the same time, no strong association between weather conditions, driver’s age, and the severity of casualty was observed in the analysis results. Although over 19% of accidents take place due to the excess speed limitation, speeding causes casualties regardless of weather conditions, and it is rather correlated with visibility factors as the majority of speeding-related accidents occur in the dark.
The zero correlation with drivers’ age is consistent with the literature review findings. Despite the fact that immature driving results in many severe accidents, the researchers do not find significant links between drivers’ age and weather conditions, and it is possible to say that, in such cases, the causes of accidents are primarily of social and behavioral character.
The severity of casualty also does not find any correlation with the weather, and it can be argued that the factors affecting the degree of a casualty are complex and multidimensional. It is possible to presume that the majority of severe and fatal accidents occur due to speeding and loss of control over an automobile. However, while focusing on the investigation of weather factors, the study is not concerned with the autonomous investigation of factors defining driving behavior. For the achievement of a greater understanding of accident occurrence risk factors, a further evaluation of the effects of driving behavior on weather-related accidents can be suggested.
The research helped to reveal significant correlations between weather conditions and visibility conditions regarding lighting sufficiency. The findings have practical implications for road design and infrastructure management practitioners. The analysis results make it clear that to attain greater road safety, it is required to invest in the development of an efficient road lighting system and road advancement as it may provoke a decrease in weather-related and visibility-related accident rates.