If you’re planning a long car trip, the time of day may be more important than you think. A new road safety study has found that the riskiest time on Indian roads is between 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM, while 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM is the safest time to drive. The findings come from the India Road Safety Report (IRSR) 2026 published by Zuno General Insurance.The report analyzed more than 4.5 million trips, more than 55 million kilometers of driving data and data from more than 27,000 active users of the Zuno SmartDrive app across 17 states.
Other key findings of the report:
According to the study, driving behavior remains relatively stable for most of the day, but begins to deteriorate after 8 p.m. The average driving score drops to 86 between 9pm and 10pm, making it the riskiest time for drivers. In comparison, drivers recorded an average of 93 points between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM, the highest of all the time intervals analyzed.The report also challenges some common assumptions about driving habits. Women and men recorded almost identical driving scores, with women scoring 92.86 and men scoring 92.43. The findings suggest that driving behavior provides a clearer picture of road risk than demographic factors.The researchers identified sudden braking and hard acceleration as the weakest driving behavior among Indian drivers. Sudden braking scored an average of 87 points, and hard acceleration scored 91 points. These habits are often associated with unsafe maneuvers and can increase the likelihood of accidents.Interestingly, seasonal changes had little effect on driving style. Average driving figures remained largely stable during summer, monsoon and winter months, suggesting that driver behavior plays a greater role in road safety than weather conditions.The report also highlights a larger concern. According to the findings, more than 80 percent of road accidents in India are caused by behavioral factors. This includes issues such as speeding, distracted driving and dangerous road behaviour. Road safety continues to be a major problem for the country. India records about 1.73 lakh road deaths every year, which is about 11 percent of global road deaths. The economic impact is also significant, with traffic accidents estimated to cost between 3% and 5% of a country’s GDP. About two-thirds of deaths are in people between the ages of 18 and 45.The report also notes that vulnerable road users remain the most affected. Two-wheeler drivers account for 44 percent of all road deaths in India, while pedestrians account for about 19 percent of all road deaths.
