The relationship between road accident severity and recorded weather

Road accident severity may be influenced by a number of factors. This artic le investigates the relationship between weather and road accidents in Engl and and Wales. The weather information recorded on Police Accident Report F orms was taken as the prevailing weather at the time of the accident. At th e local authority level, accident severity for the various adverse weather categories of rain, fog, and high winds is compared with the nonhazardous c ondition of fine weather. Severity ratios are then calculated. Findings est ablish that accident severity decreases significantly in rain compared with fine weather, while severity in fog shows geographical variation. Evidence for accident severity in high winds remains inconclusive. (C) 1998 Nationa l Safety Council and Elsevier Science Ltd.