All it takes is one person making a bad choice or a vehicle component failing unexpectedly for a major collision to occur. All too often, crashes happen whenever something goes wrong with little rhyme or reason.
However, researchers looking at data from motor vehicle collisions can often identify certain trends. For example, there is a specific four-hour window of time during the day in which car crashes are most likely to occur. While that window does shift a bit from season to season, when looking at an annual average, it becomes quite clear that a large percentage of drivers are on the road during the most dangerous time of the day on any given day.
When do the most crashes usually occur?
When looking at both fatal and non-fatal collisions, the National Safety Council has established that the most dangerous times to drive are between 4:00 p.m. and 7:59 p.m., particularly on the weekdays. Crash rates tend to increase throughout the week, with Fridays having particularly high crash rates. The afternoon rush hour sees a lot of frustrated and tired people trying to get home, and some of them will make mistakes that lead to preventable collisions. Some people will be too tired to be safe, while others may have one drink too many at happy hour.
Most people who work a first-shift job or who need to transport their children to after-school activities cannot just avoid the roads during these dangerous times. However, they can change their behaviors to be a bit more cautious during times when they recognize their crash risk is higher. Learning about trends in car wrecks can potentially help someone to reduce their personal risk of experiencing one.
