Car crashes peak in October

A new report published in the journal "Traffic Injury Prevention" has found the month of October has the highest death rate per distance driven than any other month.

The chance of dying in a car accident is 16 percent higher in October than in March, the safest month. Researchers analyzed fatal car accident figures in the U.S. from 1994 to 2006 and found October had a death rate of 10.2 people per billion kilometers driven, compared with March's 8.8 people per billion kilometers.

The next deadliest months were November and December, respectively.

According to the website car-accidents.com, "There were nearly 6,420,000 auto accidents in the United States in 2005 alone. About 115 people die every day in vehicle crashes in the United States. That equates to about one death every 13 minutes."

In the state of Texas there are approximately 4,000 deaths every year due to car accidents with Hunt County accounting for 20 to 30. This is according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Already this month there was an accident on campus in front of Whitley Hall.

A vehicle approached a crosswalk where a pedestrian was waiting to cross. When the vehicle stopped to allow them to cross, another vehicle behind them rear-ended the stopped car causing a large amount of damage.

One contributing factor to October being more deadly than other months is driving in the dark is inherently more dangerous. During this month, daylight hours get shorter and daylight savings time takes effect. After spending many months driving in extended daylight, having to adjust to the longer hours of darkness makes driving more dangerous.

Statistics have shown traffic fatalities have dropped in recent years though. A recently released NHTSA study found that "traffic deaths in the U.S. fell from 10.7 to 8.4 per billion kilometers driven from 1994 to 2006. Additionally, 7,689 motorists were killed from January through March this year (2006). This is a nine percent decline from a year ago and a low not seen in nearly 50 years."

Distracted driving, not wearing seat belts, driving while sleepy and driving under the influence are all things that are controlled by the operator of the vehicle and can be avoided. Paying attention to these issues and being a responsible driver can help reduce the number of traffic fatalities.