Be Extra Careful Out there on August 2

“August 2 is the deadliest driving day of the year. There were more traffic fatalities (505) due to motor vehicle crashes on this date than any other of the calendar year over a 5-year span (2012-2016)” – Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Members of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is comprised of most automobile insurers has determined that August 2nd is the deadliest driving day of the year. In addition, over the same 4 year time span, 15,914 people DIED in motor vehicle crashes in August making the month of August the most deadly month for motor vehicle deaths.

A combination of factors is responsible for these statistics but according to Nationwide Insurance news release, data collected from its SmartRide program from drivers in 22 states shows that the biggest contributing factors to auto accidents are hard braking, suddenly speeding up and time spent in congested driving conditions (as measured by time spent idling).

The same report indicates that Texans spent an aggravating 15.8 percent of their time idiling in heavy traffic. If you, like me, have spent anytime driving the highways and byways of Texas this summer, I am sure that you agree with this statistic. The Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston all regularly have bumper to bumper traffic throughout the travel season with the entire I-35 corridor frequently having significant slow downs.

Knowing that this month is the deadliest month, and today the deadliest day, I just wanted to take a moment and say, “please be careful.” Remember that getting in a hurry on overcrowded roads can have deadly consequences.