The most dangerous time to be on Australian roads

New research has provided the time of day that you are most likely to be involved in a fatal accident and it isn’t when you’d expect.

Speed is one of the biggest cause of road fatalities.

The mid-afternoon school pick-up and tradie knock off time is the most dangerous time to be on the roads, according to new research.

Fleet management company Teletrac Navman analysed data from the government Australian Road Deaths database from 2011 to July 2018 and found that between 3pm and 4pm was the deadliest time to be on the road in Australia’s most populous states of NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.

In South Australia the most fatalities occurred between 11am and midday, while in Tasmania it was between 1pm and 2pm. ACT drivers should be extra vigilant between 4pm and 5pm and Northern Territory driver’s should watch out during dusk between 7pm and 8pm.

Saturday was found to be the most dangerous day in nearly every state.

The road fatalities data reveals some gruesome facts about road deaths: Men are over-represented in the statistics with more than 72 per cent of deaths in the past seven years.

Holiday motorists should take extra precautions, as every state had at least one summer month with above-average road fatalities.

The research also found that the cooler months with less hours of daylight were on average more dangerous.

Drink driving is one of the major causes of road accidents.

NSW and Victoria had the lowest fatality rate compared to its population while Western Australia was the worst with 14 per cent of all road deaths but only 10 per cent of the population.

Teletrac Navman solutions specialist and former Police crash investigator Chris L’Ecluse believes many of the deaths on our roads are easily preventable.

“This new analysis is a sobering reminder of the need to keep learning as drivers and be aware on the road. On average, there are 1250 fatal collisions on Australian roads per year, yet these deaths are largely predictable and preventable,” says L’Ecluse.

L’Ecluse says drivers need to be aware of what he calls the fatal five which include drunk driving, speeding, driving under the influence of drugs or medication, failure to wear a seatbelt and fatigue.

“Too often, drivers ignore road rules and find a way to justify it to themselves. This includes driving behaviours like speeding, looking at your phone while driving, or rolling through stop signs. I spent over 20 years as a police officer and I’ve seen first-hand the devastating impact of road collisions, on the individuals themselves, their families, friends and communities,” he says.

ANCAP crash test: Toyota Corolla 2015 versus 1998 models. Picture: Supplied

The Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) chief James Goodwin says newer cars with more active safety technology can be a lifesaver.

“An area which requires greater focus is the age of the Australian vehicle fleet and its direct correlation to road fatalities,” says Goodwin.

“There are more than 2.7 million registered vehicles on our roads aged 15 years or older. “These vehicles are unlikely to be fitted with safety features that we now expect from new vehicles. So, not only do we need to focus attention to accelerate the uptake of new vehicles with the latest safety technologies, if tangible safety benefits are to be realised, we must implement ways and set targets to reduce the age of the fleet,” he says.

Originally published as The most dangerous time to be on Australian roads