When you’re driving home during the afternoon rush hour, you know that it’s dangerous for more than one reason. You have the potential for people speeding to get home. You know that the sun might be setting in your field of vision, which makes it harder to see. There’s also the potential for people to tailgate or for a traffic jam to occur.
In any case, the afternoon rush hour is something you have to put up with, but it’s still a dangerous time of day.
What can you do to stay safer during the afternoon rush?
One of the easiest things you can do to stay safer during the afternoon rush hour is to leave earlier than others. The typical peak of rush hour is between around 5 and 6 p.m., so if you can get out of the office even as late as 4:45 p.m., you may be out soon enough to beat the rush.
Alternatively, you could consider leaving later. For example, if you get out at 5:00 p.m. but have some errands to run, you might consider grocery shopping or picking up a local dinner before you get on the highway to head home.
Another helpful thing to do to avoid a car crash is to think about distractions and how you can avoid them. Don’t use your phone when you’re driving, avoid listening to music if you can’t focus well with it on and tell your passengers to avoid screaming or raising their voices. You need to be able to focus on the road, look for alternative routes and be ready to maneuver however it’s necessary to do so to keep yourself safe.
Finally, consider taking a different route. If you know the highway gets backed up each day, consider taking an alternative route home. Try to find a route that fewer people use, so you can avoid traffic jams and backups, road rage and other issues that you might come across in heavy traffic. Doing this could help you save time, even if the route usually takes longer.
If you do end up in a crash, stay at the scene and call 911. After you get medical care, you can look into making a claim against the at-fault driver.