This is a little off topic but listed are some interesting facts.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Traffic Safety Facts 2003”, Some days of the week are worse than others for driving. Along the same lines, some holidays are worse than others for driving also. On those days you might consider taking the train or not driving at all. Here is a list of the deadliest holidays.
10 Deadliest Days of the Year To Drive
July 4
July 3
December 23
August 3
January 1
August 6
August 4
August 12
July 2
September 2
Other than holidays here are the worst days of the week for driving. As I have already said, take the train. [;)]
Deadliest Day of the Week to Drive
Saturday
Friday
Thursday
Wednesday
Monday
Tuesday
Sunday
Saturday is the worst day of all with weekend evenings from 9 PM to 10 PM being the most dangerous hour.
Even the month we choose to go on vacation should be given some consideration. Here are the deadliest month to drive. Park the car for the whole month and get a monthly train pass.
Deadliest Month to Drive
August
October
July
November
September
Some other related items.
Deadliest Time of Day to Drive
3:00 - 6:00pm
6:00 - 9:00pm
9:00 - Midnight
Noon - 3:00pm
Midnight - 3:00am
Some you are not driving and not taking the walk because you think walking is safe. Think again.
Pedestrians Beware: The Deadliest Days to Walk
January 1st (Avoid walking home from that New Year’s Eye party.)
October 31st
Just had an accident down the road from the house, when we got there the girl was standing in the road, and her first question was," could we find her cell phone?" Was comiserating with her boyfriend about her mean father and lost it in the transition from gravel to asphalt, rolled it into the hedgerow, and did not have a clue… They are automobiles, not telephone booths, it seems like the cause of more and more crashes is inattention.
The other day I read how ExxonMobil prohibits cell phone use in all company vehicles since it significantly increases reaction time and therefore decreases safety. They are also applying these rules when subcontracting as well.
Speaking of cell phones (and I can vouch with personal experience about how distracting they can be - although I didn’t have an accident), I do have to put in a plug for “ICE.”
In case you haven’t heard of it, ICE stands for “In Case of Emergency.” The idea is to put the numbers of emergency contacts in your cell phone with a name of “ICE Laura” or “ICE Dave”. Should you suffer a medical emergency and are unable to speak, officials can dial retrieve an ICE number on your phone and contact whoever you have in there. A key to this concept is that whoever you put in as an ICE contact should have medical information about you (ie, medications, significant medical history) so medical personnel can treat you accordingly. Of course, if you have a really significant condition, you should seriously consider a “Medic Alert” bracelet or the like.
Drivers on the phone are really getting to be a problem around here. Probably causes more accidents then drunk driveing. The other day I was driveing down our main drag here in town. I was stopped at a red light and across the street a tractor trailer made a left hand turn. Well he didn’t swing wide enough and had to stop blocking all lanes in my direction. It was the truckers fault but if the car blocking the truck would have backed up a few feet the truck could have proceded. But the guy in the car was on the phone and oblivious to the situation. So why didn’t the truck back up and take the turn wider? Because the driver in car behind him was also on the phone and oblivious to what was going on. The truck driver repeatedly honked his horn (first his car type horn then the air horn) and they still were oblivious. The truck driver had to set the brakes and knock on the car in fronts window. By then there were too many cars backed up behind him to back up and he had to walk to the back of the truck and get the car behinds attention. Now he had to back up and re take the turn. All this took 4 cycles of the light to accomplish (about 6 min). All this mess because not one but two idiots on the phone totaly oblivios to the mess they cause (or at least could have avoided as it was the truckers fault.