You know that there are dangerous times to be in your car. Many accidents happen during rush hour, for instance, and a high number of fatal crashes happen at night.
But what about if you’re riding your bike? Is there a certain time that has been shown to be the most dangerous?
Yes. According to the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration (NTHSA), 20 percent of these deadly accidents happen between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. While that’s not a majority outright, it was the highest concentration of deaths and shows an elevated risk.
As long as you’re looking for risk factors, you should also know that the city appears to be far more dangerous than rural areas. A full 71 percent of fatal accidents happened in urban centers. This illustrates that even low-speed accidents — speed limits tend to be lower in the city — can be deadly for cyclists who, even with safety gear, are relatively unprotected.
Men appear to be in more danger than women, at least when looking at total deaths. In all, 88 percent of those killed were men. Most of them were young, between 20 and 24 years old. Of course, these stats are looking at total fatalities, so they may just indicate that men between 20 and 24 are more likely to ride their bicycles than other groups, but it’s still worth noting — especially if you fall into that high-risk group.
If you are injured in a bicycle accident caused by a negligent driver, no matter when it takes place, be sure you know what legal options you have. You may be entitled to compensation for things like lost wages and high medical bills.
Source: NHTSA, “Bicyclists,” accessed Oct. 27, 2017
