In what month do car accidents occur most?

Answer 1

According to the FARS website and various other sources (Highway Safety & Car Insurance Statistics) In the USA as a whole August followed by October are the top two months for car accidents. Summer months (June and July specifically) are all high accident months in the USA. The data was averaged over the last 4-5 years (2003 to 2008) and the data is based on "reported" accidents.

The lowest accident months are funny enough the winter months with January being the lowest for accidents followed by December, February and November. You would think the winter months would have high rates considering the mandatory holiday travel, the shorter days, and the ice/snow/frost weather. But on average January (or the lowest rate month for that year) had %40 to 50% fewer accidents than August (or the highest rate month for that year).

October also struck me as an odd month for reportedly high accidents when I discovered it as a close 2nd on the list consistently over the years. In fact most years the rate would dip by as much as 1/3 for the month of September and then go right back up to almost the peak August value during the month of October before dipping again in the winter months. Again odd because September is one of the busiest months of the year with a bulk of the younger driving population going back to school and starting new jobs. This however possibly coincides with another odd fact, that most accidents occur in daylight, during the daytime hours (a time that most of the population is indoors at school or work).