Winter Safety and Preparedness

Weather-Related Vehicle Accidents Far More Deadly Than Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Floods

At a Glance

Weather-related vehicle accidents kill more people annually than large-scale weather disasters.
Late fall through early spring, all potential driving weather hazards are in play, from rain and snow to ice and fog.

Weather-related vehicle accidents contribute to a far higher number of deaths in the United States than large-scale weather disasters, including tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding.

Travelers face myriad weather-related hazards each year, including wet pavement, rain, snow/sleet, icy pavement, snow/slushy pavement, blowing dust and fog. We are now in a time of year – late fall to early spring – when all of those weather conditions are a possibility across many roadways in the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said more than 5.8 million vehicle crashes occur each year based on statistics from 2007 to 2016. About 21 percent of those, or just over 1.2 million, involved hazardous weather.

Annual average vehicle crash statistics. Data from U.S. DOT.

Those U.S. weather-related automobile crashes have killed an average of 5,376 people annually, accounting for about 16 percent of all vehicular deaths, the DOT said. More than 418,000 others were injured each year during that same period.

For comparison, the 10-year average combined number of deaths each year from flooding, lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes and heat is 379.

Average annual number of deaths by weather type during the last 30 years.

Wet pavement and rain were the top two contributors to weather-related automobile crashes, based on the 10-year averages, followed by winter weather hazards and fog. It's probably no surprise that wet pavement and rain cause the largest majority of deaths in weather-related accidents given that particular hazard is in play during all seasons.

Sudden Visibility Reductions Pose Big Danger

Driving situations with rapidly changing weather conditions are particularly hazardous to drivers. Heavy snow, dense fog, or blinding rain can reduce visibility from good to just a few feet in a matter of seconds.

Short-term bursts of localized heavy snow called snow squalls are notorious for causing large pileups in winter. Their brief but intense snowfall rates drop visibility quickly while slickening roads, catching drivers off-guard.

(MORE: New Snow Squall Warnings Will Be Issued)

Vehicles pile up at the site of a fatal crash near Fredericksburg, Pa., Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. The pileup left tractor-trailers, box trucks and cars tangled together across several lanes of traffic and into the snow-covered median. (James Robinson/PennLive.com via AP) — Vehicles pile up at the site of a fatal crash near Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. The pileup left tractor-trailers, box trucks and cars tangled together across several lanes of traffic and into the snow-covered median.
(James Robinson/PennLive.com via AP)

Fog and blowing dust are also significant threats to reduced visibility at a moment's notice.

Fog-related accidents often involve motorists driving too fast for the conditions and following other vehicles too closely. Sometimes, rapid changes in visibility can trigger major accidents as visibility drops from good to almost zero in a short distance.

Even Small Amounts of Ice Can Be Dangerous

Drizzle in subfreezing temperatures might not seem like a big deal, but to unsuspecting motorists, it poses a major threat. Even a light glazing of ice on bridges and roads can cause treacherous driving conditions.

A recent example of this occurred on the morning of Jan. 15, 2015, when light freezing drizzle affected several states in the Northeast. Even though freezing drizzle was brief and confined to the morning hours, hundreds of accidents occurred. It was not a major storm system, but it was highly impactful.

The icy travel conditions that morning contributed to the deaths of nine people.