Characterizing the Role of Wind and Dust in Traffic Accidents in California

Wind is a common ground transportation hazard. In arid regions, wind-blown dust is an added risk. Here, we analyzed the relationship between accidents and wind speed, dust events to study how they may have contributed to vehicular accidents in California. The California Highway Patrol reports information about weather conditions that potentially contributed to traffic accidents, including a code for wind but not for reduced visibility due to dust. For the three counties that contain the major dust source regions in California (the Mojave Desert and the Imperial Valley), we found greater daily maximum wind speed for days with accidents coded for wind compared to all days with accidents. The percentage of people injured in accidents attributed for weather other than wind and coded for wind were the same; however, the percentage of people who died in wind-related accidents was about double the deaths in accidents caused by weather other than wind. At ground meteorological stations closest to accidents, we found lower median minimum visibility for days with wind-related accidents compared to all days with accidents. Across the region, wind speed recorded at ground meteorological stations increased the probability of high satellite-derived dust optical depth values. Over the period of 2006 to 2016, the correlation between daily minimum visibility and daily maximum satellite-estimated dust optical depth was negative. Our analysis of the correlation between dust and accidents shows that with increased wind storm and dust-event frequency in the future, the risk of traffic incidents due to wind and dust could increase. Plain Language Summary Wind-blown dust reduces visibility that can then lead to increased risk of accidents. While the California Highway Patrol reports information about adverse weather conditions that potentially contribute to traffic accidents like wind, it does not provide information for reduced visibility due to dust. To better understand the relationship between traffic incidents and hazardous weather condition caused by wind and/or dust, we use dust-related variables such as wind speed, visibility, and satellite-derived proxy for regional dust activity to determine the extent to which accidents between 2006 and 2016 that were reportedly caused by wind were also coincident with dust. Our work is important because the percentage of people who died in wind-related accidents was about double the deaths in accidents related to weather other than wind. We found that for all wind-related accidents as wind speed increased, visibility from weather stations closest to the accident location decreased. Furthermore, the likelihood of a wind-related accident increased in low visibilities. Our analysis also found a negative relationship between ground visibility and regional dust activity, which increases the future risk of vehicular accidents in a drier and dustier California.