Most likely time to have an accident revealed

Richard Aucock, Contributor
Wed, 20 Sept 2023

Be careful if you’re doing the school run on Friday afternoon – it has been revealed as the most likely time to crash your car.

Insurer Aviva has crunched the numbers on its mass of claims data, and found that the peak time for car collisions is on Friday between 3pm and 3:15pm.

This time slot has been the peak time for car crashes since 2020 – and latest data for 2023 shows no signs of the trend declining.

Motorists cannot relax either side of this time though, as peak risks on the road continue throughout the afternoon.

Ranking second in the top five times of the day with the highest number of collisions is between 2pm and 2:15pm, with between 4pm and 4:15pm in third, and between 1pm and 1:15pm in fourth.

It’s only in fifth place that a time in the morning enters the ranking of highest number of collisions – be extra-careful between 11am and 11:15am.

Surprisingly, the traditional morning and evening rush hour commutes – between 7-9am and 5-7pm – do not feature in the top five.

Instead, it’s that peak school run time of between 2-4pm where more than 1 in 4 collisions occur.

Indeed, another Aviva survey found that 16% of people who drop their kids off to school have witness a collision, while the rest have either encountered a motoring incident or poor parking.

Time pressures are undoubtedly a factor, with 1 in 4 who drive on the school run admitting they are against the clock.

"Hybrid working patterns mean more people now have the flexibility to collect their children from school," says Aviva’s Alec Reeder, "but working and factoring in a pick-up deadline can leave many watching the clock and squeezing the time until school’s out."

"We see this especially on a Friday afternoon, where people may be in an extra hurry to beat weekend getaway traffic."

Tempers can flare too, added Reeder – the statistics also showed that more than 1 in 4 school runners had witnessed arguments either between drivers, or between drivers and pedestrians.

"That’s why it’s so important to leave extra time to avoid a last-minute panic and rushed driving – be patient and mindful of other road users."

Ask HJ

I had an accident in a courtesy car, what do I do?

My car was having a clutch fitted, the garage lent me a car. A courier company vehicle (I think in training) drove into my lane on a busy roundabout forcing me to break sharply and collide with them (my left bumper into their right rear). They aren't accepting responsibility. I am insured by Privilege, which includes: the Policyholder (Main Driver) may also drive with the owner's permission a motor car not owned by them and that is not a hire, rental or courtesy car, unless we have provided or arranged it; and not hired or leased to them under a hire purchase or annual leasing agreement. Privilege say I am only covered with them for third party for damage to the courier vehicle as it's a car loaned to me and that I need to make a claim through the courier's insurers myself. The garage say insurers tend to tell to avoid cost on their part and that I should pursue them.  Might you know where I stand legally please?

Generally speaking, car insurance policies that offer you the facility to drive other cars loaned to you with the owner's permission do so on a third-party cover basis, although we would expect the terms and conditions to make this clear. Unless you are covered under fully comprehensive terms, you will need to pursue through the third party's insurance company. In addition we would expect the garage to make clear the terms and conditions of loaned vehicles, so we would advise checking these before contacting the third party's insurer.

Answered by David Ross

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