The most dangerous times to be on the road

No one wants to be involved in a car accident, but given the amount of cars on the roads and the ever increasing populations in cities like Sydney and Melbourne – the stats tell us that we are more than likely going to get into a small bingle at some point in time.

However being alert and aware of the most common types of accidents and the times at which they are most likely to occur can significantly help prevent you from getting caught up in a ‘fender bender’.

A recent study from insurer Youi has found that it’s the morning commute that is most likely going to result in you getting yourself into an accident.

In fact peak hour on weekdays accounts for over 27.1% of all accidents on our roads.

Peak hour is considered to be 8-9am and 3-6pm on weekdays.

During peak times there are more cars on the road and that also coincides with school pick up and drop off times.

The study also found that statistically, drivers are most likely to get involved in an accident on a Friday – when 16% of all car accidents occur. It was theorised that Fridays are when commuters are most likely to be fatigued as they come toward the end of the working week.

The most common type of accident is a simple rear end collision. 23% of all car accidents are your classic fender bender. With commuting times of around an hour each way and the high volume of cars during peak periods in Sydney and Melbourne, it’s easy to see how the numbers can get so high.

However interestingly, the next highest cause of an accident is when parking.

21% of all accidents occurred when drivers were parking and 12.3% occurred when a driver was reversing.

So going by the numbers, drivers need to pay extra attention and take care when in car parks and reversing in and out of driveways as this is in fact where the majority of incidents occur.

On the weekends there is also a significant number of accidents that occur between 10am and 3pm. For a large amount of drivers in our two biggest cities of Sydney and Melbourne, many aren’t using their cars at all during the week as they use public transport to get to and from work.

However peak hour traffic is often worse on weekends in major cities, due to the increased number of road users.

So statistically to avoid an accident, drivers need to be extra careful during their morning commute to avoid rear-ending the car in front of you while also paying extra attention to parking and reversing as this is where most accidents are likely to occur.

Most common accidents

*Data from Youi

Keys to avoiding accidents

• Be careful during peak hour as statistically more accidents occur during these hours.
• Parking and reversing account for most accidents.
• Peak hour occurs on the weekend as well from 10am to 3pm on Saturdays and accounts for most of the accidents on outside of the work commute.