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Most deadly times, places to drive
Tom Barlow
Jul 13th 2010 at 2:00PM
An important part of defensive driving is to make good choices about when and where you drive. To help you minimize your risk, we’ve compiled some useful facts. Putting them all together suggests that you run the least risk of a fatal crash by driving on Christmas Day between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. The risk is even lower if Christmas falls on a Monday.

On the other hand, you run the maximum risk of having a fatal accident by driving on I-95 in Florida on June 10th between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. when that date falls on a Saturday.

Here’s a round up of the deadliest times and places to drive based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (data is from 2008 or an average of the most recent three years) and from The Daily Beast, which recently compiled information on the most dangerous highways.

Most deadly days of the year to drive:

1. June 10
2. June 16
3. July 4
5. July 15
6. June 17

Noteworthy finding: Nine of the top ten deadliest days to drive are in late spring and summer.

Least deadly days of the year to drive:

1. December 25
2. February 27
3. March 20
4. January 24
5. January 15

Most deadly days of the week to drive:

1. Saturday
2. Sunday
3. Friday
4. Thursday
5. Tuesday
6. Wednesday
7. Monday

Noteworthy finding: You are 53% more likely to be in a fatal crash on Saturday than you are on Monday.

Most deadly times of day to drive:

1. 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.
2. 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
3. 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
4. 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
5. 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Least deadly times of day to drive:

1. 4 a.m. to 5 a.m.
2. 5 a.m. to 6 a.m.
3. 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
4. 3 a.m. to 4 a.m.
5. 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Noteworthy finding: There is a 52% drop in fatalities from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. and between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Most deadly Interstate highways:

1. I-95, Florida
2. I-76, New Jersey
3. I-4, Florida
4. I-15, California
5. I-10, California

Most deadly atmospheric conditions:
1. Rain
2. Snow/Blowing snow
3. Fog, smog, smoke
4. Sleet/hail
5. Crosswinds

More interesting tidbits:

Over half of all fatal crashes in 2008 took place in rural areas.
60% of fatal crashes were one-car accidents.

In 2008 74.5% of all fatal accidents occurred on two-lane roads. Check on fatalities along roads you drive with SafeRoadMaps.org’s marvelous new interactive map to crash data.

Fatal car accidents are down 15% from the peak in 2005, while fatal motorcycle accidents are up by 13% in the same time period.

Mercedes, BMW Boost U.S. Sales on Ann Taylor Shoppers

By Theo Keith – Jul 2, 2010
Bloomberg

The top three luxury auto brands boosted U.S. sales in June as high-end car companies and dealers added Ann Taylor shoppers to their Gucci-loving loyalists.

Sales of Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks rose 21 percent to 18,269 in June, while Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s namesake brand boosted U.S. deliveries 15 percent to 19,182, the automakers said yesterday. The German brands narrowed the gap against Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus, which increased sales 2.7 percent to 17,332 cars and light trucks.

Luxury automobiles will continue to rebound if they can lure customers battered by the recession who are just starting to consider high-end cars, said Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing, which tracks luxury trends.

“Many people are looking at themselves and saying, ‘We’re really middle class, not upper class,’” Danziger said. “They’re realizing you can buy very acceptable fashion from Ann Taylor, you don’t need to go buy Gucci. It’s the same with cars.”

Lexus remains the group leader at the mid-year point with 107,430 sales. Mercedes sold 103,674 through six months and BMW delivered 100,632. All three have boosted sales this year, reversing last year’s trend. In 2009, U.S. sales fell 17 percent for Lexus, 15 percent for Mercedes and 21 percent for BMW.

Luxury brands can attract people who are recovering their wealth by focusing on entry-level models, Danziger said.

“They’re looking for real value, not the nameplate,” she said.

‘Room to Grow’

Lexus, Mercedes, BMW and other luxury brands are pulling those people in with incentives on leases, said Jesse Toprak, an auto-industry analyst at Truecar.com.

“Last year was so miserable for luxury brands, there’s a lot of room to grow,” Toprak said. “Those people hurt by what happened are starting to come back.”

As a result, the luxury sector will outpace overall U.S. sales for the rest of the year, Toprak said

Mercedes grew on E-Class sedan sales, which rose 75 percent from a year earlier to 4,865. Mercedes’ entry-level luxury sedan, the C-Class, had the most sales for the month at 5,563, up 21 percent.

BMW’s increase came on sales of its redesigned 5-Series sedan and the X5 sport utility vehicle, which both rose more than 40 percent.

Shares of BMW rose 35.5 cents, or 0.9 percent, to 38.56 euros as of 12:48 p.m. in Frankfurt. Daimler added 65 cents, ro 1.6 percent, to 41.07 euros.

U.S. Brands

A 6.6 percent decline in passenger car sales stunted Lexus’s growth. Sales of the IS sedan fell 17 percent to 2,863 in June, while the ES sedan’s sales dropped 14 percent to 3,366.

U.S. luxury brands were mixed.

General Motors Co.’s Cadillac sales rose 39 percent to 11,788 in June as its SRX sport utility vehicle jumped almost sixfold to 3,804. Cadillac has sold 64,785 cars and trucks this year.

Lincoln, Ford Motor Co.’s luxury unit, fell 11 percent to 6,318. Sales of the Town Car, MKS and MKX all declined by at least 21 percent.

Domestic luxury brands’ sales growth will stay slow because years of uncompetitive products have left them with an “image problem,” Toprak said.

“Most luxury buyers buy on image,” he said. “That’s the biggest hurdle for Lincoln and Cadillac to overcome. It’s going to be a 5- to 10-year process, but that process has started.”

German Brands

Volkswagen AG’s Audi division sold 8,601 cars in June, up 14 percent from a year earlier. The company’s 48,440 sales in the first six months of 2010 are a record, the company said in a statement.

Porsche SE said U.S. sales more than doubled in June after a new version of the Cayenne sport-utility vehicle and the Panamera Gran Turismo car hit showrooms. Deliveries increased 137 percent to 2,141 cars and SUVs last month from a year earlier, the Stuttgart, Germany-based manufacturer said in a statement.

Acura, Honda Motor Co.’s luxury brand, said sales rose 31 percent in June to 10,839. The MDX sport utility vehicle spurred Toyko-based Honda’s increase with 3,847 sales, 64 percent more than last June.

Sales of Nissan Motor Co.’s Infiniti climbed to 8,304 in June, 32 percent higher than a year earlier.

To contact the reporter on this story: Theo Keith in Southfield, Michigan at tkeith6@bloomberg.net.

Le Mans: By the numbers
By RICK DOLE

I will try and give you some idea of the logistical scale of the Le Mans 24 Hours and the importance placed upon this event by car manufacturers.

The number of accredited journalists is north of 1,200. Peugeot alone brings 160 journalists from China, Japan, Russia, South Africa and the European countries.

The setup for wine and food is a temporary, purpose-built structure that is the size of a small convention center. It is set up trackside at the Ford Chicane. Audi has one too, same size, about 200 yards away.

The French car company brings a total of 2,000 people to this event. In addition to the 160 journalists, there are 600 people from the Peugeot network, 400 from partner companies, 250 from company headquaters. You get the picture. The actual race team has 130 people. Le Mans is as much about marketing as it is racing.

Audi has a massive guest list as well. While most of the fans will never see the wining and dining in the Audi guest areas, they will get to see the Audi brand–both in the merchandise store and the Audi display in the village. Audi spends several millions of dollars a year with the Le Mans organization, from displays to safety cars, pace cars, advertising and so forth.

On a much smaller scale is General Motors. The Corvette Racing team brings 43 people to Le Mans, including drivers, crew, a team doctor, nurse and chef. GM will bring no corporate guests from North America (GM Europe has invited a small handful) and no one from GM upper management will attend this year’s race. They will stay abreast of the action via instant messaging, e-mails, social media, etc. Clearly a vision of the leaner General Motors.

Doug Fehan, the head of GM’s road racing program, told me the team has a dedicated tractor and trailer that is only used for this event and is shipped across in late April. While other U.S.-based teams ship equipment over via cargo jets, Fehan said he feels the Vette team has a huge advantage in using its own equipment and saves more than 200 man hours of not having to pack, unpack and organize crates of gear once they arrive in France.

The Corvette team did bring one piece of extra equipment: A a horn from a locomotive. Each day at noon and again in the wee hours of the morning, they let it sing. Everyone knows when the lunch is being served and when the end of the day is near. A wonderful reminder to everyone on pit lane that the Yanks are in town.

Michelin has brought 6,500 tires to the race and 100 engineers, technicians and management staff to support its teams. Michelin will hand out about 15,000 key rings during the driver’s parade on Friday. John Fitch is hoping to be a good-luck charm for the Corvette team at Le Mans.
Fifty is the final big number this week. Corvette is celebrating its 50th anniversary at Le Mans. John Fitch is in France and so is his 1960 class-winning Cunningham Corvette. Fehan and company hosted a press conference on Thursday afternoon honoring Fitch. The reunion of Fitch and his car is a wonderful story, one you will read in the near future in AutoWeek.

Thursday ended the same way as Wednesday, with Peugeot still occupying the top four spots of the time sheets. Confidence is building for the French squad.
To read more visit the AutoWeek ALMS racing news and reports section.

This article was last updated on: 06/11/10, 10:43 et

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