Road accidents 40% more likely on Fridays

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In the past year, nearly 6,500 accidents involving personal injury took place on a Friday, leading to 8,108 people being injured and 77 people killed.

This is 40 percent higher than the figures for Sunday, which with 3,916 accidents and 5,147 injuries is the day of the week that sees the least amount of accidents.

Drivers have been warned by traffic psychologists to stay vigilant while travelling on roads at the end of the working week, when people are more likely to be tired and eager to get home.

Dora Beer is a traffic psychologist at the ARBÖ, the federation of car, motorcycle and bicycle riders in Austria. Explaining the figures, she said: “The traffic density is high due to the overlap between work and leisure related traffic. Stop-and-go traffic and congestion increases the stress and anger levels.”

She added: “After the tiredness and exhaustion following a stressful week of work, everyone tries as quickly as possible to start their weekends. This dangerous mix leads to a huge increase in the risk of accidents.”

Superstitious drivers will want to particularly watch out as they are making their way home today as it is Friday 13th, also known as Black Friday, a day associated by some with bad luck and danger.