Janus on the Roads: Extreme Temperature and Traffic Accidents
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Climate change is increasingly shaping daily life by amplifying the frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, cold spells, hurricanes, heavy rainfall, and wildfires. While prior research has largely focused on the direct economic and health impacts of such events, their effects on everyday behavior—and the resulting societal risks—remain underexplored. This study examines whether weather-induced stress and compromised attention, both of which can result from extreme temperatures, contribute to increased traffic accident rates. Drawing on panel fixed effects and vector error correction models applied to South Korean data from 2005 to 2023, we find that both extreme heat and cold weather are significantly associated with higher accident incidence. This relationship has intensified in recent years, particularly among young and prime-age adults, coinciding with growing climate volatility. Our findings reveal important behavioral and public safety dimensions of climate change and underscore the need for integrated climate adaptation policies. Such policies should address not only physical health risks but also the more subtle disruptions to daily functioning and the vulnerability of public transport systems, offering important implications for automobile insurers.
Abstract
Climate change is increasingly shaping daily life by amplifying the frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, cold spells, hurricanes, heavy rainfall, and wildfires. While prior research has largely focused on the direct economic and health impacts of such events, their effects on everyday behavior—and the resulting societal risks—remain underexplored. This study examines whether weather-induced stress and compromised attention, both of which can result from extreme temperatures, contribute to increased traffic accident rates. Drawing on panel fixed effects and vector error correction models applied to South Korean data from 2005 to 2023, we find that both extreme heat and cold weather are significantly associated with higher accident incidence. This relationship has intensified in recent years, particularly among young and prime-age adults, coinciding with growing climate volatility. Our findings reveal important behavioral and public safety dimensions of climate change and underscore the need for integrated climate adaptation policies. Such policies should address not only physical health risks but also the more subtle disruptions to daily functioning and the vulnerability of public transport systems, offering important implications for automobile insurers.