Car accidents are unfortunate events that can happen at any time. They can cause major injuries and even fatalities. However, statistics suggest that car crashes happen more often during certain periods. There are times of the day, days of the week, and others that see more crashes. If you know when car crashes are more likely to happen, you can take steps to keep yourself safe.
How Many Car Accidents Happen Each Day?
The National Safety Council (NSC) estimated 12,800,000 car crashes in 2022. Divided by 365 days, you get roughly 35,068 crashes each day.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provided a lower estimate of 5,931,000 car accidents. That’s an average of 16,249 accidents every day.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) counted 42,514 motor vehicle crash fatalities on US roadways in 2022, the latest year the NSC has publicly available records. Dividing that number by 365 days leads to an average of 116.47 fatalities each day.
Furthermore, car accident deaths aren’t limited to the vehicle’s occupants. Every 71 minutes, a pedestrian loses their life because a wayward vehicle has hit them during a car crash.
Fortunately, early data for 2022 suggests that the total number of fatalities is trending downward in recent years. In 2022, there were roughly 1.33 deaths for every 100 million vehicle miles covered. The number dropped to 1.26 fatalities per 100 million miles in 2023.
Most Common Times for Car Crashes
Car crashes can happen at any time. However, some days, times of day, and seasons of the year seem to have more car accidents than other times.
What Time of the Day Do Car Crashes Often Occur?
Afternoon and evening are the most dangerous times of the day. In 2022, the peak time of day for both fatal and nonfatal car accidents was from 4 PM to 7:59 PM. For fatal crashes alone, 32% of the annual fatalities attributed to car crashes happened between 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM.
Peak car crash periods vary significantly depending on the season. Fatal car accidents usually hit their high point between 8 PM and 11:59 PM during spring and summer. From November through March, fatal car crashes most often happened from 4 PM to 7:59 PM.
During the summer, the nonfatal crash peak appears earlier. Most car crashes happen around noon to 3:59 PM.
What Time of the Week Do Car Accidents Happen Most?
Fatal car crashes happen more often on weekends. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday account for 49% of all deadly crashes. The number of fatal crashes is highest on Saturday.
Nonfatal car accidents tend to happen more often on weekdays. Friday has the highest number of nonlethal car crashes, perhaps in part caused by people rushing to leave their workplaces but constrained by slow vehicle traffic.
Conversely, Tuesday is the safest day of the week in 2022. It has the fewest motor vehicle deaths of any day of the week. Only 5,265 car crash fatalities happened on a Tuesday out of the total of 42,515 fatalities in 2022.
What Months Do Fatal Car Accidents Happen Most Often?
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 drastically changed travel patterns in the US. Most people stayed at home and minimized social interaction to stay safe.
By 2022, things have mostly gone back to business as usual. Unfortunately, that means the number of car crashes has also risen.
Note that the number of monthly vehicle miles traveled affects the monthly car crash fatalities. Both vehicle miles and fatalities go down during the winter months when fewer people want to travel. During the summer months, vehicle miles and deaths rise.
In 2022, January and February shared the spot for months with the lowest miles traveled. This was reflected in the number of fatal car crashes between January and April. Fewer car crash-related fatalities happened during this part of the year.
More people went on the road during the rest of 2022. The month with the highest number of miles traveled was August. Accordingly, car crash rates rose after February and stayed high from May through October.
What Periods Have the Highest Number of Fatal Car Crashes?
The 100 days between Memorial Day (May 26) and Labor Day (September 1) are considered some of the most dangerous days of the year. Fatal and nonfatal car crashes soar during the summer months during this period, especially for teen drivers. The NHTSA described this period as the 100 Deadliest Days.
What Areas Have the Most Car Accidents?
Urban areas have far more car accidents than rural areas. Cities have more people and larger volumes of vehicular traffic. Furthermore, the roadways in urban areas must take into account buildings and lots, leading to more constrained roads when compared to their rural counterparts.
Starting in 2016, car crash-related fatalities in urban roadways have exceeded car accident-related fatalities in rural roadways. Urban areas reported a total of 25,023 fatalities related to car crashes in 2022 alone. In comparison, only 17,283 car crash deaths happened in rural areas in the same year.
Car accidents happen more often in certain areas within cities and the countryside. In urban areas, the highest number of car crashes take place on interstates and freeways. Around 21% of car crash fatalities happen on a highway.
In the countryside, car crashes happen most frequently on arterial and local roads with heavy traffic volume. Roughly 14% of car accident fatalities in rural areas happen on these relatively heavily used roads.
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