What’s up with fall car accidents?

Defying conventional wisdom, a new study from the University of Michigan says that fall is the most dangerous driving season. September through December host the highest rates of car-crash fatalities. That means winter’s snow and ice don’t lead to as many crashes as one might guess.

While the study pinpointed the average number of deaths per billion kilometers, the reasons are open for speculation. The study’s author guessed that shortened daylight hours have something to do with it, but said he wouldn’t try to pin the results on one cause. This made me wonder what other factors lead to this crash bonanza:

• Are wet leaves more slippery than ice? Perhaps the next study should develop a “slippery meter” of what’s more slick. Maybe towns should shift their snow-removal budgets to wet-leaf removal.
• Is everyone late for school? The car-crash uptick appears in September. Is everyone so late for school that they all start crashing?
• Is it crazy Christmas shoppers? I don’t know about you, but my local stores are filled with Thanksgiving decorations. They’re pushing out the Halloween tchotchkes and it’s only mid-September. Costco already has holiday aisles; I examined some nice Christmas gift tags there yesterday. Christmas-shopping season starts earlier every year and we all know how crazy Christmas shoppers get in search of a bargain. Maybe they’re to blame for these car crashes.

Those are my ideas. Have you witnessed anything where you live that could be to blame?