1 in 4 car accidents occur during rush hour

Looking at crash type by day and time (the first table), we see:

• Crashes of all types are at their highest Monday through Friday between the hours of 4:00-6:00 p.m. This is likely when traffic volume, of all types, is at its highest, as individuals are commuting from work to home or to other evening activities.
• Automobile accident frequency is slightly elevated during midweek morning commutes and picks up a few hours early on Friday afternoon.
• Pedestrian-motor vehicle crashes are the only crash type with above average occurrence on Saturday evenings, likely reflecting trends in overall pedestrian traffic volume.

The most interesting element, to me, however, were the trends in crashes by month:

• Automobile crashes spike in November and December, as more people are on the road traveling for holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• Bicycle crashes peak in the summer months when kids are out of school.
• Pedestrian crashes peak in October and remain high through December. During this time period, daylight hours are declining (making pedestrians more difficult to see) and both children and college-age students are back in school.

Last, we see that pedestrian crashes have the highest fatality rates of all crash types (6.4%) and also a higher incidence of disabling injury (6.7%). Compared to bikers wearing helmets and individuals enclosed in cars, pedestrians are relatively unprotected, and are more vulnerable to serious consequences from crashes with motor vehicles.