COLUMBUS, OH. – Today, Aug. 2, might be a good day to stay home or at least not drive too much.
A recent study by Nationwide Insurance found that Aug. 2 is the most dangerous day of the year to take to the road.
Nationwide members reported more accidents in August 2016 (60,976) than any other month during the last four years.
During a five-year span, 15,914 people died in motor vehicle crashes in August, ranking it as the deadliest driving month of the year, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
The IIHS said that were more traffic fatalities (505) due to motor vehicle crashes on Aug. 2, than any other day of the year over a five-year span.
Aggregated data collected from drivers in 22 states show that the biggest contributing factors to auto accidents are hard braking, suddenly speeding up and time spent in congested driving conditions.
Based on more than 600,000 members and more than 1.3 million vehicles, Nationwide has identified which states show the highest frequency of factors known to contribute to auto accidents.
The worst three states when it comes to hard-braking are Arizona, Georgia and New York.
As for fast accelerations, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois have the most incidents, with .58 fast accelerations per 100 miles.The worst states for idling time because of congested traffic are Florida, Arizona, Texas, Georgia and New York.
Nationwide’s data clearly identifies Friday, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. as the most aggressive time of the week for drivers. During this time frame, drivers’ habits behind the wheel show more instances of hard braking and faster accelerations than any other time of the week.
“These critical pieces of data about driving habits have been identified as some of the leading contributors to auto accidents,” said Teresa Scharn, Nationwide associate vice president who helps build and manage the insurer’s telematics program. “When drivers are armed with this information, they can make necessary adjustments to their driving behaviors that will help them be safer drivers.”
Based on more than 600,000 members and more than 1.3 million vehicles, Nationwide has identified which states show the highest frequency of factors known to contribute to auto accidents.
The worst three states when it comes to hard-braking are Arizona, Georgia and New York.
As for fast accelerations, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois have the most incidents, with .58 fast accelerations per 100 miles.The worst states for idling time because of congested traffic are Florida, Arizona, Texas, Georgia and New York.
Nationwide’s data clearly identifies Friday, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. as the most aggressive time of the week for drivers. During this time frame, drivers’ habits behind the wheel show more instances of hard braking and faster accelerations than any other time of the week.
“These critical pieces of data about driving habits have been identified as some of the leading contributors to auto accidents,” said Teresa Scharn, Nationwide associate vice president who helps build and manage the insurer’s telematics program. “When drivers are armed with this information, they can make necessary adjustments to their driving behaviors that will help them be safer drivers.”