According to the Yle statistical review the vast majority of road accidents occur during the afternoon, when many motorists are returning from work and perhaps rushing to pickup kids and take care of after work errands.
“At light traffic busy crossings are especially dangerous; that’s where there are many pedestrians and motorists may be paying attention to many different things,” said lead specialist Inkeri Parkkari of the Finnish Transport Safety Agency Trafi.
Fender benders all day long
Police data show that the risk of personal injury on the road is greater than usual during afternoon rush hour, however road traffic accidents occur throughout the day.
Apart from the police the Finnish Motor Insurers Centre LVK also maintains statistics on road accidents. Its data set is broader, since not all accidents are reported to police.
LVK’s figures don’t show a similar afternoon traffic spike in car crashes but its data does not distinguish between accidents that lead to personal injury and other kinds of collisions.
“The difference in the statistics is apparently that serious accidents that come to the attention of the police occur during afternoon rush hour,” speculated Trafi’s Jussi Pohjonen.
Danger also lurks in parking lots
Traffic safety experts say that apart from the road, danger may lurk in surprising locations. They advise that small children should be kept away from parking lots, especially at mid-day.
LVK’s data show a clear peak in fender benders occurring in parking lots between noon and 1.00 pm, just when the youngest learners get off from school.
“One factor could be that we tend to be in a rush taking care of lunch time errands and we forget to be cautious,” said LVK traffic safety researcher Ilkka Nummelin.
The majority of parking lot incidents are usually minor, since there isn’t a corresponding spike in personal injury reports as a result of these accidents.
Still these locations are dangerous for young road users. Trafi’s Inkeri Parkkari pointed out that the school parking lot also sees many close shaves occurring.
“We need to consider whether it’s really important to drive our youngsters to and from school because it adds to the road traffic near the school and inevitably sets up more conflict situations,” she added.