Study shows Fayetteville is the seventh most dangerous U.S. city to drive in at rush hour

Fayetteville ranked seventh among the most dangerous U.S. cities to drive in during rush hour, according to a recent study.

The study, conducted by the Texas-based Barber Law Firm, analyzed National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data on fatal crashes between 2018 and 2022.  The study defined rush hour as between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

"Naturally, the risk of a crash grows when there is more traffic on the road, but it seems this has significantly more of an impact in certain places compared to others," a news release said.

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The study listed the top 50 cities with the highest percentage of fatal crashes during rush hour, with Fayetteville being one of two cities in the top 10. According to the study, 28.57% of fatal crashes in Fayetteville occurred during rush hour. Of the city's 105 fatal accidents in the four years analyzed, 30 were fatal during rush hour.

Other North Carolina cities in the top 50 include Durham, at 47th; Raleigh, at 44th and Greensboro, at 28th. Winston-Salem was listed as the No. 1 city on the list with more than 30% of its fatal crashes occurring during rush hour.

The safest city to drive in during rush hour was deemed to be Cleveland, with less than 15% of fatal crashes in that time, according to the study.

According to an N.C. Department of Transportation spokesman Thursday, in 2023, 29 people were killed in the city in fatal wrecks and only one of those wrecks was during rush hour.

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville, seventh most dangerous city to drive in during rush hour