Southwest Florida Car Accidents: When are You Most at Risk?

You should be paying better attention during afternoon rush hour.

The News-Press used Metropolitan Planning Organization data to determine the afternoon commute is likely the most dangerous part of your day, and certainly the deadliest time of day on Southwest Florida roads. clock-300x300

The news came as a surprise to some, who guessed the morning drive was deadliest, as motorists fought for space to get to work on time while waking up to the radio and their morning coffee.

Afternoon Rush Hour Deadly Time for Traffic Accidents

But our car accident attorneys know it’s in the afternoon when a confluence of traffic risks reach their peak: Distraction, bicyclists and pedestrians, delivery, construction and landscape vehicles, distracted parents, aggressive drivers, distracted teens, speeding, school buses, motorcyclists, drowsy drivers and red-light runners.

The afternoon is when we are preoccupied. Hurried. Stressed. And most prone to distraction.

Traffic data for Lee County roads from the last three years shows crashes begin increasing at 6 a.m. weekdays and reach a peak by 5 p.m. before tapering off at about 7 p.m.

Those who thought the risks were highest around lunch time were partly right. Lunch begins the deadliest six yours of the day, with road risks progressively increasing until near dusk.

“People are just too distracted,” said Syndi Bultman an injury prevention coordinator with the Trauma Center at Lee Health. “People don’t slow down, they’re too much in a hurry.”

As if to prove her point, Fridays at 4 p.m. proved to be the deadliest time of the week on area roads.

Weekend and Night Time Risks on SWFL Roads

Weekend crash statistics are different. But, because of differences in overall traffic volume compared to reported accidents, may be no less dangerous. On weekends, the risks come with darkness, with midnight to 3 a.m. being deadliest.

Drunk driving crashes are most likely to occur during this time frame.

In response to the 116 people who lost their lives last year on Lee County roads, local law enforcement and safety advocates are participated in an effort called Driving Down Fatalities. Last year was the second year in a row more than 100 people were killed on local roads; the first time that has happened since before the recession in 2007.

Recently our injury attorneys in Fort Myers blogged about the risk of dangerous intersections. Like intersection collisions, the most dangerous time of the day is illustrative of the true problem: Times and locations where the poor driving decisions and bad driving habits of motorists are most likely to meet.

It also illustrates why reaching out to an experienced injury law firm is the best court of action. Injury law and crash investigation and reconstruction are complex issues. Insurance companies have the upper hand because they have the experience and the legal resources necessary to limit the award of compensation to those who lack proper legal representation.

If you or a loved one is injured, call Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, at 1-800-646-1210.

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