Exploring Driver Injury Severity in Single-Vehicle Crashes under Foggy Weather and Clear Weather

The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the significant influencing factors of driver injury severity in single-vehicle (SV) crashes under foggy and clear weather conditions. Based on data for SV crashes in Shandong Province, China, the mixed logit model (MLM) was employed to interpret driver injury severity for SV crashes in clear and foggy weather. The results showed that there are significant differences in the influencing factors of the severity of SV crashes in foggy and clear weather. Specifically, 15 factors are significantly associated with the severity of SV crashes in clear weather, and 18 factors are significantly associated with the severity of SV crashes in foggy weather. In addition, young drivers (age < 30), non-dry road surfaces, and signal control significantly influence the severity of foggy weather crashes but not clear weather crashes. Self-employment and weekends have significant effects on the severity of crashes only in clear weather. Interestingly, drivers whose occupation is farming showed opposite trends in the effect of crash severity in foggy and clear weather. Based on the findings of this research, some potential countermeasures can be adopted to reduce crash severity in foggy and clear weather.

Automated summary

This study investigated and compared the influencing factors of driver injury severity in single-vehicle crashes under foggy and clear weather conditions. Significant differences were found in the factors affecting crash severity in foggy and clear weather, with factors such as young drivers, non-dry road surfaces, and signal control significantly affecting foggy weather crashes but not clear weather crashes. The findings suggest potential countermeasures to reduce crash severity in both foggy and clear weather.