Effects of summer precipitation on urban transportation

Potential shifts in summer precipitation due to an enhanced greenhouse effect indicate the possibility of more rain days and heavier rains in the Midwest, and this study assessed the effects of such changes on transportation in Chicago using a 3-year period of data. Traffic accidents in the metropolitan area doubled on rainy days, with 30% more accidents in more densely populated urban areas than in suburban-rural areas. During rain events accident severity (number of injuries) was 55% higher in suburban and rural areas where less dense but higher speed traffic flows exist than in the city, however. Rain days during dry months produced more accidents and injuries than during normal or wet months. Three times as many accidents occurred during heavy rain periods (> 12.8 mm) as during nonrain conditions. Rain had a negligible influence on weekday traffic volume on busy highways but there was a 9% decrease in traffic volume on rainy weekends. A 3–5% decrease in ridership of public transportation occurred on rainy days, with most decreases during midday. Nationally, 27% of all fatality-producing aircraft accidents occurred during rainy weather conditions, as did 57% of the 30-min flight delays at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Results suggest that given continued transportation use patterns extend into the future, a future climate with more summer rain days, somewhat higher rain rates, and more storms would mean more total vehicular accidents, more total injuries in vehicular accidents, decreased ridership on public transportation systems, and more aircraft accidents and delays. A drier climate would likely experience fewer moderate to heavy rain events but results show that rain events during drier conditions produced a greater frequency of accidents and injuries per event than during wetter conditions.