Adverse weather impact on driver performance in the UAE

Abstract

Road traffic accident is a significant cause of death around the world. Many factors cause accidents, such as demographic factors, humane factors, road design factors, and weather factors. This paper will investigate the adverse weather impact on driver performance by analyzing the impact of weather conditions on drivers' behaviors. Statistical analysis was conducted using one-way ANOVA test, correlation analysis, and Artificial Neural Network. The data was collected using a questionnaire for the people live in the United Arab Emirates. The survey includes two parts; the first part is about driver characteristics (Gender, Age, Nationality, Marital status, Education level, Monthly income, and Driver experience). The second part contains three questions related to the reaction and attitude of drivers due to bad weather conditions. The results showed that 45% of drivers involved in accidents during bad weather conditions although the majority (more than 75%) of them reduced the speed during the bad weather conditions. Overall, more research is needed to be done to evaluate the dust impact on driver performance as well as using real traffic accident data and compare it with this study to reach a solid conclusion and recommend the best solutions to improve traffic safety.