Yahoo Autos 10 Worst Days for Driving
Photo: Fogstock
By Mark Vallet
It turns out that all days are not created equal, especially when it comes to driving.
Statistics clearly show there are a number of days each year where it’s just more dangerous out on the road. While most of these bad driving days fall around a holiday, there are a few surprises that you might not expect.
The hazards for these high-risk days stem from simply more traffic on the roads to a higher percentage of drunken drivers and even football fans who are driving more aggressively than usual.
Here are 10 dangerous driving days:
1.Memorial Day weekend
This holiday is often considered the start of summer, and in most years, it is a bad day to drive. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about 400 people a year die during a typical Memorial Day weekend, and on average there are 13.1 percent more traffic deaths than on a non-holiday weekend.
Booze is a big factor; 44 percent of all traffic fatalities that occur over Memorial Day are alcohol-related.
It is a big driving weekend as well. AAA projected last year that 36.1 million drivers would drive at least 50 miles from home during Memorial Day Weekend. Too many cars on the road, combined with booze-fueled parties and barbecues, results in more accidents and more deaths.
2. The start of daylight saving time
Losing that extra hour of sleep just might raise your insurance rates.
A new study, “Spring Forward at your Own Risk: Daylight Saving Time and Fatal Vehicle Crashes” by Austin Smith at the University of Colorado Boulder, found that during the first six days of daylight saving time there were 302 driving-related deaths and associated costs of $2.75 billion over a 10-year period.
Even more surprising, the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (a division of the NHTSA) discovered a 17 percent increase in traffic fatalities on the Monday after the shift to Daylight Savings Time.
Photo: Chris Yarzab | Flickr
3. Black Friday
On any given Black Friday, there are 60 to 70 million shoppers at the local mall trolling for bargains. All of those cars, combined with too few parking spots, lead to a record number of parking lot accidents.
Progressive Insurance examined its data and discovered that from 2010 to 2011 the number of claims on Black Friday doubled and parking lot claims rose 36 percent. Rear-end accidents made up 12.5 percent of claims, while 11.1 percent involved a parked car being hit.
Jeff Sibel, spokesperson for Progressive, offers a couple of tips. “Protecting your car can be as simple as parking further away in the parking lot. Use your eyes, ears and mirrors to be on the lookout for any sudden movements and drive slowly in the parking lots.”
4. NFL game day
Your favorite football team might just get you into a car accident, especially if it loses.
A study done by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) found that claim frequency around the stadium went up on game day. Increases ranged from 8.2 percent to a whopping 79.7 percent.
A home-team win lessens the increase significantly with collision claims only rising by 3.2 percent. A loss, on the other hand, led to aggressive driving with accident claims jumping 9.4 percent.
The collision effect was highest for the New Orleans Saints stadium (35.3 percent), followed by the Detroit Lions (28.5 percent). The Pittsburgh Steelers round out the top three with a 22 percent increase.