(Stacker) — How dangerous is rush hour traffic in Utah?

Rush hour is the time of day when traffic is at its heaviest, typically as people drive to and from work. Despite the rise of remote work and the substantial decrease in traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans still commute daily. As more and more companies announce plans to return to the office, road congestion and traffic patterns have begun to move closer to pre-pandemic levels. According to the transportation analytics firm INRIX, the average motorist spent 51 hours in traffic in 2022 – that’s 15 hours more than in 2021.

While gridlock during rush hour can be frustrating and costly, how does it impact traffic safety? Gold Law examined 2021 fatal crash data from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System to find out.

Rush hour is bimodal in the United States – consisting of a morning and evening period. In this study, rush hour is defined as 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

One in four U.S. traffic deaths occurred during rush hour, taking the lives of nearly 11,000 people. With nearly twice as many traffic fatalities, the evening period is considerably more deadly than the morning.

Alaska had the deadliest rush hour of any state in the U.S., accounting for 37 percent of all traffic deaths in the state.

Motorists in New Hampshire were least likely to die during rush hour, where only 19 percent of the state’s fatal crashes occurred during that period.

Rush hour crashes account for nearly 30 percent of all traffic deaths in the 10 states with the deadliest rush hours. That number is just 22 percent for the 10 safest states.

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States with largely rural populations and less interstate traffic congestion had disproportionately deadlier rush hour periods when compared to states with more traffic and larger urban populations

While it may sound counterintuitive, the more traffic a state has, the less deadly its rush hour is. In fact, six of the ten states with the safest rush hour were among the worst in terms of interstate traffic congestion.

Which States Have the Deadliest Rush Hour? Where Does Your State Rank?

Below, the study ranked the states by the percentage of fatal collisions during rush hour periods. Ties were broken by total rush hour crashes.

20. Colorado

  • 28% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 691 total traffic deaths / 192 rush hour deaths
  • 70 during morning rush hour / 122 during evening rush hour

19. Kansas

  • 28% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 424 total traffic deaths / 118 rush hour deaths
  • 53 during morning rush hour / 65 during evening rush hour

18. Missouri

  • 28% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 1,016 total traffic deaths / 283 rush hour deaths
  • 90 during morning rush hour / 193 during evening rush hour

17. Arkansas

  • 28% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 693 total traffic deaths / 195 rush hour deaths
  • 79 during morning rush hour / 116 during evening rush hour

16. Nevada

  • 28% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 385 total traffic deaths / 109 rush hour deaths
  • 41 during morning rush hour / 68 during evening rush hour

15. Iowa

  • 28% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 356 total traffic deaths / 101 rush hour deaths
  • 41 during morning rush hour / 60 during evening rush hour

14. Idaho

  • 28% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 271 total traffic deaths / 77 rush hour deaths
  • 31 during morning rush hour / 46 during evening rush hour

13. Mississippi

  • 29% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 772 total traffic deaths / 221 rush hour deaths
  • 100 during morning rush hour / 121 during evening rush hour

12. Utah

  • 29% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 328 total traffic deaths / 94 rush hour deaths
  • 31 during morning rush hour / 63 during evening rush hour

11. North Dakota

  • 29% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 101 total traffic deaths / 29 rush hour deaths
  • 10 during morning rush hour / 19 during evening rush hour

10. Kentucky

  • 29% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 806 total traffic deaths / 232 rush hour deaths
  • 74 during morning rush hour / 158 during evening rush hour

9. North Carolina

  • 29% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 1,663 total traffic deaths / 482 rush hour deaths
  • 162 during morning rush hour / 320 during evening rush hour

8. Oregon

  • 29% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 599 total traffic deaths / 176 rush hour deaths
  • 70 during morning rush hour / 106 during evening rush hour

7. Maine

  • 29% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 153 total traffic deaths / 45 rush hour deaths
  • 12 during morning rush hour / 33 during evening rush hour

6. West Virginia

  • 30% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 280 total traffic deaths / 84 rush hour deaths
  • 21 during morning rush hour / 63 during evening rush hour

5. South Dakota

  • 30% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 148 total traffic deaths / 45 rush hour deaths
  • 16 during morning rush hour / 29 during evening rush hour

4. Vermont

  • 31% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 74 total traffic deaths / 23 rush hour deaths
  • 6 during morning rush hour / 17 during evening rush hour

3. Delaware

  • 32% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 136 total traffic deaths / 43 rush hour deaths
  • 12 during morning rush hour / 31 during evening rush hour

2. Rhode Island

  • 33% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 63 total traffic deaths / 21 rush hour deaths
  • 4 during morning rush hour / 17 during evening rush hour

1. Alaska

  • 37% of traffic deaths occurred during rush hour
  • 67 total traffic deaths / 25 rush hour deaths
  • 8 during morning rush hour / 17 during evening rush hour

Data Sources and Takeaways

This study is based on fatal crash data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the year 2021. While fatal collisions are more likely to occur during rush hour in some states, a deadly car accident can happen at any place, at any time. Motorists should prioritize safe driving habits no matter what time of day they are in their vehicles. Making safety a habit will not only help save lives—including the driver’s own—but it can save drivers from the financial, legal, and medical expenses that can result after car accidents. To stay safe, drivers can:

  • Never operate your vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol
  • Avoid distractions like texting, eating, or talking on a handheld mobile phone.
  • Obey posted speed limits, traffic signs, and signals.
  • Properly maintain your vehicle including brakes and tires.
  • Keep calm and avoid aggressive driving or road rage behaviors.
  • Take breaks if you are tired or drowsy
  • Watch out for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

You can’t completely remove the risk that comes with motor vehicle travel, but you can minimize it by driving safely and being aware of potential hazards around you.

This story was produced by Gold Law and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.