If you’re like most drivers, you can just sense when it’s more dangerous to be on the road. July 4th, Memorial Day weekend, New Year’s Eve and those stressful work commutes during nasty weather probably come to mind. But have you ever wondered statistically when the most dangerous weekly driving times and days are? Thanks to 2016 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA; www.nhtsa.gov) that was subsequently analyzed by the online legal directory Avvo (www.avvo.com), you don’t have to guess anymore.
Every year, the NHTSA collects reams of data about traffic accidents and resulting fatalities for all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. That information is then organized into tables listed on their Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) website. Back in 2017, Avvo, which is a nationwide legal directory that helps potential clients find attorneys, decided to analyze FARS data from 2016 to determine the most likely times and days of the week for motor vehicle crash-related deaths. What follows are the fascinating trends their study (1) revealed.
Based on Avvo’s findings, the most dangerous time of day to drive is between 4 pm and 6:59 pm. In 2016, 6,201 people died in motor vehicle accidents during those time zone-adjusted hours, out of a total of over 37,000 fatalities. For starters, 4 pm to 7 pm is a peak time for work commuters heading home. Avvo also discovered that the second deadliest time for road travelers is 7 pm to 9:59 pm. But what surprised the Avvo researchers was the comparatively low number of fatalities (3,345) during the morning commute hours of 7 am to 9:59 am.
Why the large disparity between morning and evening rush hour fatalities? According to traffic safety experts, the main reasons are probably these:
Obviously, commuters living in large metropolitan areas are at a higher risk, especially when tied up in traffic congestion. On the positive side, the researchers also found that Tuesdays between 1 am and 3:59 am are the safest times to be behind-the-wheel.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that driving gets a little crazier on the weekends, and especially late at night. As you would expect, the Avvo study determined that the overall worst days of the week for traffic fatalities in 2016 were Saturdays, with nearly 7,000 deaths, followed by Fridays with 5,826 fatalities. Saturday night from 10 pm until Sunday morning at 3:59 am was statistically the most dangerous weekend period of all. Once again, Tuesday stood out as the safest day for travelers.
In general, the researchers concluded that:
Out of a total of 34,748 reported traffic accidents and 37,748 fatalities in 2016, alcohol was a contributing factor in 10,497 deaths. Not wearing a seatbelt led to 10,428 fatalities, and speeding was involved in 10,111 deaths. Keep in mind that a single fatality may have been attributed to multiple causes. Distracted driving was a factor in 3,450 road fatalities, with another 400,000+ injured because drivers weren’t watching the road.
Based on the evidence, experts recommend using these safe driving precautions:
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