While there are inherent dangers to driving in the snow in Colorado, many people would be surprised to learn that the winter months are not necessarily the most dangerous times to be on the highway. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, August is statistically the month with the most fatalities.
This information comes from studying the data from 2008. For the sake of comparison, they looked at both January and August. In January, there were 2,818 fatalities, and there were 3,612 in August. That shows a definite jump of about 800 traffic fatalities, despite the facts that roads that are free and clear from snow in the end of the summer could be covered in it after Christmas.
The study also looked at some of the other raw statistics involving these crashes so that people can know when it is most dangerous to be on the road. For instance, there tend to be the most fatal accidents on Saturdays. When looking at driving during the day or driving at night, the split is about even, with 51 percent of the wrecks during the day and the other 49 percent at night.
It is also worth noting that the majority of the crashes that happened during the night are related to alcohol, coming in at 54 percent.
Knowing when it is dangerous to drive can help people avoid car accidents, but nothing can prevent them entirely. Those who are injured in accidents at any time of day need to know what legal rights they have to help with medical bills and other related costs.
Source: Forbes, “Most Dangerous Times To Drive” Hannah Elliott, Oct. 06, 2014
