Most Dangerous Hour – Pedestrian to be Fatally Hit by a Car
If you are considering a walk while out near the street or traffic, you might want to avoid the most dangerous times of the day when a pedestrian is most likely to be fatally hit by a car…
Analysis shows that a pedestrian’s most dangerous time is generally and more often during the hours surrounding sunrise and twilight.
(see specific times below for each month of the year)
This makes sense given the low angles of the sun during sunrise and sunset.
The sun at a low angle to the horizon will often partially blind a driver from seeing everything clearly (sun in your face, windshield glare, difficult lighting for object perception).
I KNOW that you all have experienced this while driving. Sun glare.
The following data is sourced from an analysis by IDV Solutions, who sourced data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (nhtsa.gov) from the years 2006 – 2010.
During any given year,
THE most dangerous fatal one-hour period for a pedestrian to get hit by a car:
January (6-7 PM)
December (6-7 PM)
The LEAST dangerous fatal one-hour period for a pedestrian to get hit by a car:
April (2-3 PM)
June (12-1 PM)
July (4-5 PM)
The most likely month for a pedestrian to be fatally hit by a car is December.
The least likely month for a pedestrian to be fatally hit by a car is June.
Most Likely Time To Be Fatally Hit By A Car
The following list indicates the most dangerous and likely one-hour periods during each month of the year for a pedestrian to be fatally hit by a car.
JANUARY
1. 6-7 PM
2. 7-8 PM
3. 8-9 PM
4. 6-7 AM
FEBRUARY
1. 7-8 PM
2. 6-7 PM
3. 8-9 PM
4. 9-10 PM
5. 6-7 AM
MARCH
1. 7-8 PM
2. 9-10 PM
3. 8-9 PM
4. 9-7 AM
5. 5-6 AM
APRIL
1. 8-9 PM
2. 9-10 PM
3. 10-11PM
MAY
1. 9-10 PM
2. 8-9 PM
3. 10-11PM
JUNE
1. 9-10 PM
2. 10-11 PM
JULY
1. 9-10 PM
2. 10-11 PM
AUGUST
1. 8-9 PM
2. 9-10 PM
3. 10-11 PM
4. 5-6 AM
SEPTEMBER
1. 8-9 PM
2. 9-10 PM
3. 5-6 AM
4. 6-7 AM
5. 6-7 PM
6. 10-11 PM
OCTOBER
1. 6-7 PM
2. 7-8 PM
3. 6-7 AM
4. 8-9 PM
5. 10-11 PM
6. 5-6 AM
NOVEMBER
1. 6-7 PM
2. 7-8 PM
3. 5-6 PM
4. 8-9 PM
5. 9-10 PM
6. 10-11 PM
7. 5-6 AM
DECEMBER
1. 6-7 PM
2. 5-6 PM
3. 7-8 PM
4. 8-9 PM
5. 6-7 AM
6. 9-10 PM
Don’t let this stop you from walking! But be aware that (among other reasons) drivers in a vehicle may not see you… normally not an issue unless crossing the road.
Sometimes I think there should be an open season on pedestrians. I don’t know how many times I’ve noted them on the shoulder in the evening or around dawn walking with their back to traffic and wearing dark green, camo (very popular here) or black clothing. Especially hard to see when it’s foggy or misty. Idiots, and they are reproducing. But they are pedestrians and they are entitled to walk where the want. Then when you are about to turn into a stores parking lot and they are about to cross the entrance do they look to see if somebody is going to turn in, not likely. They are crossing the street and you slow down do they speed up to get out of your way? Natural selection is too often impeded by laws. Sorry for the rant and I really don’t think we should be allowed to run over them.
Agree with the comments about walkers with dark clothing. I live near a college campus and you would not believe how many students are clad in a dark ‘hoodie’ with dark pants. Coupled with them looking at their phones texting while walking, a driver has to have their head on a swivel. Stupid kids – you are at college for crying out loud – you are smarter than that !!
Most with the hoodie up on their heads so they have zero vision or hearing of whats around them
As a driver, I’ve noticed recently how bad my eyes are becoming as I age.
Not only the sun, but road nighttime glare off of wet pavement, road sign glare with high beams, on coming vehicles.
And to be a walker on such roads, the sun is only one factor of many for distracted/clear vision of driving now a days.
Alternative:
Stay indoors and hoof the stairwell or in the woods.
Stay safe out there
Joe c. they make shades that mitigate the fog. look for the ones with orange lenses they work. My exercise plan is now doing the chores w/animals and gardening and repairs and etc to the homeplace. IF I am out walking it IS an emergency.
JS
Yes
FWTB has a similar type visor she uses with her vision.
I need to get accustomed to.
When I was 18… 0330 Wake up… 0400 3-4 mile daily run at fort lost in the woods. They had awesome pt instructors… nothing like getting screamed at before a cup of joe. Yup that sucked.
Now 0500 wake up 0900 2 mile forced march with 40lbs ruck.
A much better routine as you get older.
You still have to watch your butt when walking. There are a lot of idiots out there regardless of time of day. At least most of them have had their cup of joe and are semi alert in the morning. Plus I move out after rush hour. Less idiots…
Even walking to the mailbox isn’t safe.
A family friend was retrieving his mail one rainy afternoon.
A young female driver was pulled into him, because of the standing water on the roadway. Striking him.
Him a victim, her charged with involuntary manslaughter.
I was just a teen then, and don’t remember her outcome. It was sad to lose a family friend, but also sad to hear of the charges filed by the procecutor of an innocent driver.
It only takes a millisecond to ruin your life and/or the life of others.
That’s terrible. Sorry, about the loss of your friend. Hopefully the woman was had better luck since then.
Spouse of a family member was killed a few years back when sedan was t-boned by a pickup truck. Truck’s driver was blinded by driving into the rising sun.
Many years ago I lived near the Capitol building in DC. Lovely old trees overhung the neighborhood roads and blocked what little street light there was. It was a dark winter evening and I was headed home. A group of local teens ran across the road about half a block ahead of me so I slowed down. When I reached that spot one last kid ran out right in front of me and I stomped the brakes. He was obviously challenged which explained his lagging behind. I almost didn’t see him and missed hitting him by only a second or two. All these children were dark skinned and had on dark clothing. I cursed their parents for allowing them blend so well into the night. Ever since I have made sure that I, my kid, or someone in the group wears something reflective if out walking at night.
I was involved in a wreck 25 years ago that was caused by sun glare. It was a head on collision that killed 2 people that day and another died a few weeks later from complications. I am the only one that survived. Thank God it was a miracle that I made it. There were no pedestrians involved but it was a devastating event.
While I agree on the glare problem the morning and evening are when people are the most distracted also. Just woke up,trying to plan out your day,reaching for your morning coffee ect. At night it is the same thing. Going over what you are doing for dinner,what you need to do before bed, what went on during the day .
car guy,
The road I live on is a very narrow, minimally maintained county road. When meeting another vehicle, even under perfect lighting conditions, both drivers need to be on their toes to avoid contact. In the minutes before sundown, there are times that the setting sun is directly in your eyes, almost totally blinding you. I’ve, in the past, pulled over and waited for the sun to go below the horizon, before continuing the relatively short distance left for me to get home. I commiserate with you on the danger presented by sun glare. It is fairly common for travelers on our road to run into ditches or big rocks/trees alongside the road due to being blinded by the setting, or rising sun.