FILE - Traffic backs up on the State Route 14 freeway when it is shut down in both directions because of heavy snow on Feb. 25, 2023 near Acton, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
Driving in general can be dangerous with millions of cars on the road each day, but that’s especially the case during bad weather.
Rain, sleet or snow can really impair a driver’s abilities.
On average, over 5.8 million crashes happen each year, according to the Department of Transportation, and approximately 21% of those crashes are weather-related.
Nearly 5,000 people are killed and over 418,000 people are injured in weather-related car crashes each year.
A recent study conducted by a personal injury law firm in Ohio analyzed all the fatal crashes in the United States between 2018 and 2022 and found which states had the highest number of fatal crashes due to bad weather.
Map: States with the most weather-related crashes
Alaska tops the list
The study analyzed all fatal crashes that occurred in "bad weather" which included:
- Clear skies
- Rain (mist)
- Sleet, hail
- Snow
- Fog, smog, smoke
- Severe crosswinds
- Blowing sand, soil, dirt
- Other
- Cloudy
- Blowing snow
- Freezing rain or drizzle
Alaska topped the Finch Law Firm’s of states with the most weather-related accidents list with 22.74% of fatal car crashes taking place during bad weather conditions.
Accidents that happened during winter weather made up 10.28% of the overall percentage.
In second place was West Virginia with 16.56% of all fatal accidents occurring mostly during rainy weather.
Arizona had the least weather-related accidents, with 2.93% of all fatal crashes occurring during adverse weather conditions.