Back in June, we discussed the danger of driving at night and the increased risk of getting into a car accident. You can read that post here. Today, we will expand on that subject by discussing other times and days when car crashes become more likely than usual here in the Wilson area.
The drive home after work can be deadly
While driving on highways and streets late at night has its own risks, a 2016 study found that the most dangerous time to drive is several hours earlier. Researchers found that the evening rush hour has the most fatal car accidents of any part of the day. Specifically, there were 6,201 fatal crashes nationwide that happened sometime from 4 pm to 6:59 pm. That was the most collisions of any time period for 2016, and far more than the 3,345 deadly crashes the occurred during the morning commute (7 am to 9:59 am).
While the volume of traffic should be about the same in the morning and evening rush hours, driver behavior is probably different. Some drivers may be coming from an after-work happy hour and impaired by alcohol. The rest could be feeling stressed or anxious to get home, causing them to speed and act recklessly. That could explain the dramatic difference in severe car accident injuries.
Weekends are the most dangerous
On the other hand, more people are killed in car wrecks on weekends than on weekdays. A total of 6,802 people were killed on Saturdays in 2016, the highest total of any day. Fridays were second with 5,826, closely followed by Sundays with 5,809. After Sunday, the number of daily fatalities fell on Monday and Tuesday before slowly going up again Wednesday and Thursday.
What happens after a serious accident
It’s good to be aware of statistics like this, but you may not be able to avoid evening rush hour if you work outside the home. Neither can you spend your entire weekend off the streets. What you can do after getting hit by a negligent driver is take control of the process of getting compensated for your injuries.