Heads up! Friday at 4:30PM when accidents most likely to occur
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By Friday afternoon at 4:30, we're all a little weary from a week of work and the everyday stresses of life. We hop in the car to drive home with a reduced attention span and minds wandering. The damp weather, gray skies darkening towards the early sunset, and the onslaught of the holiday season certainly don't add any enthusiasm to the overall driving experience, dulling normally well-honed driving responses to a level that would make Anna-Nicole Smith appear sharp. Sound like a prime scenario for an accident?
In fact, it is. The chance of having an accident between 4-5PM on Friday is 35% greater than 8-9AM and 50% greater than 9-10AM on the same day. According to a statement issued by Continental Tire, November is the worst month of the year for traffic accidents, accounting for nearly 10% more than October, which ranks next on the list. They also remind drivers to be conscious of tire pressures and cold tires during the winter season. Cold weather often causes lower tire pressures and a cold tire can have substantially less road adhesion, causing longer braking distances and diminished handling characteristics.
[Source: Continental Tires via Automotoportal]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Gardiner Westbound 5:31PM (11/24/2006)
That 1968 Chevrolet Impala must have been in the ditch for quite a long time.
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Mike 7:25PM (11/24/2006)
Actually it is a 1969 model.
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Ralph 7:38PM (11/24/2006)
Thanks Mike. '69 it is. And thanks to Gardiner for knowing it was an Impala and not a Bel Air (2 tail lights per side.) But could it be a Caprice?
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Mike 7:55PM (11/24/2006)
It's a Impala the from the looks of roofline it looks like the sport coupe. The Caprice would have a small strip of trim above the rear bumper. I always loved the 69 Chevys,I used to have a 69 Kingswood wagon.
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Richard Warren 10:30PM (11/24/2006)
69 Custom Coupe
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Carlos 4:13AM (11/25/2006)
I would guess it's from sun in your eyes. When glare is truly "fixed", that will be one of the great breakthroughs in automotive technology.
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cowboy bob 9:24AM (11/26/2006)
If the statistics are as old as the photo, my guess is that the next thing we see are predictions of victory in Viet Nam.
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Galley 9:17AM (11/25/2006)
Reminds me of the time my mom dumped our '67 Polara in a ditch. Seatbelts, what seatbelts? ;-)
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Dirk Dundenburg 9:00AM (11/26/2006)
What a great car. My Dad had one with a 350. I was 9 my brother was 4 in the early 70's, the back seat area seemed like a cavern then. No seatbelts either, we were always standing up on the seats or sleeping on the back window ledge on our long road trips to Cedar Point. I cringe when I see kids doing that nowadays, although it's a very rare ocurrence and most people will call the police around here when they see that.
As for the Friday 1630 hrs accident rate it makes perfect sense. Though I see it every weekday at 1500 hrs. I leave work just as the nearby Chrysler workers are leaving the van plant and it's absolute madness. Speeding, cutting each other off, fingers being flipped and horns blowing. Everyone's in a rush to get home and plop themselves in front of the telly and start drinking. ( It's a stereotype but I know many autoworkers and that seems to be their life.)
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