The chances of having a near-collision while driving nearly doubles in good weather conditions, research suggests.

Driver safety and compliance company Lytx determined from analysis of its data that drivers are more likely to engage in distracted driving when weather conditions are clear than in inclement weather.

“Our data shows there are nearly double the number of near-collisions when the weather conditions are clear than when it’s stormy,” said Del Lisk, vice president of safety services for Lytx.

“We have concluded that drivers are not as alert and may engage in distracted driving more often when the weather is clear.

“We have released this data to remind drivers the perils of distracted driving and importance to drive alert regardless of the weather conditions.”

Lytx analytics experts studied more than 2.5 billion miles driven from September 2011 to April 2013.

The data found that there are 8.6 near-collisions for every collision in clear weather and 4.6 near-collisions for every collision in inclement weather.

Lytx Europe general manager Paul Jones said: “At Lytx our goal is to help make our roads a safer place for both the commercial drivers we support and the general motorists who share the roads with them.

“Over 1,700 people were killed and more than 180,000 people were injured on UK roads in 2013, according to Department for Transport figures.

“The majority of these incidents are due to human error and are avoidable.

“We’re dedicated to using our technology to help professional drivers adopt safer driving habits and measurably reduce the risk that is present on our roads every day.”
 

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