Driving somewhere this month? September is one of the safest

By Christopher Elliott |


Good news for those of you planning a late summer vacation: September is the safest warm-weather month to be on the road, according the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The government reported these figures earlier in the year, when it noted 2009 was the safest year for driving. But I hadn’t noticed the dip in September, followed by the jump in October — the Columbus Day spike.

September isn’t the safest month, statistically, to be driving. That honor belongs to February or March, depending on the year. The colder the weather gets, the fewer accidents with fatalities are reported, generally speaking. (The exception, as I mentioned, is October.)

The most dangerous month? August.

Reassuring news for those of us taking a Labor Day road trip, right? Well, don’t get too excited. Bear in mind that these shifts are probably just due to the fluctuations in the number of people driving during the year, and are not weighted (deaths per thousand). Still, I’ll be curious to see the 2010 numbers.

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