Boise ranks among ‘deadliest’ rush hour cities? This traffic report just rear-ended us.

With Boise’s population booming, traffic isn’t as chill as it used to be.

But a new report on “The Worst Cities for Rush Hour Fatal Accidents” feels like an unexpected crunch to Idaho’s rear bumper.

“With the coronavirus vaccine being administered,” a spokesperson for AutoinsuranceEZ wrote in an email to the Statesman, “many Americans will be heading back to offices, which means commuting during rush hour, and drivers in Boise need to be extra vigilant on the road — Boise is the second worst city for rush hour fatal crashes.”

Wait. Huh?

What is the infatuation all of a sudden with Boise’s rush hour? Already in 2021, a trucking-industry website declared that Boise has one of the worst rush hours in the world. Now we’re getting whiplash from some website called AutoinsuranceEZ?

“My team analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and TomTom to find and rank the worst cities for fatal accidents during rush hour traffic,” the spokesperson insisted. Boise is supposedly the second-worst city in the U.S., he wrote, explaining that “nearly 30 percent of fatal crashes in Boise occur during rush hour, with the evening rush hour being more deadly.”

Let’s tap the brakes.

Much like the analysis from Fleet Logging that claimed Boise had the worst rush hour in America, AutoinsuranceEZ’s ranking depends heavily on how you work the numbers.

Boise had the fewest fatal crashes by far among the “10 deadliest cities” — seven total in 2019, the report says. Only two of those happened during rush hour.

Any death is tragic, but that number doesn’t seem particularly outrageous.

But two out of seven is 28.6 percent. And percentages are what this ranking is all about. Only Seattle had a higher one, at 34.8 percent — or eight of 23 fatal accidents occurring during rush hour.

Rounding out the top five worst cities were Baton Rouge (10 fatal rush hour crashes, or 25 percent), New York City (48, or 23.1 percent) and Pittsburgh (five, or 21.7 percent.)

There were 5,540 fatal car crashes during morning and evening rush hours nationwide, AutoInsuranceEZ says. “Those crashes accounted for 16.7 percent out of the 33,244 fatal crashes in 2019,” the report adds.

OK, so if the national average is 16.7, then Boise’s 28.6 percent does seem, like, higher. But Boise’s sample size is incredibly small, too. Like, smaller than one of those Toyota Priuses slowing down traffic on the Connector.

So what are the lessons here?

Be cautious anytime you drive in the Treasure Valley. That’s common sense.

And be skeptical of attention-grabbing reports that make Boise sound like Los Angeles.

“Rush hour is deadly,” AutoinsuranceEZ says, “and in some cities, it is deadlier than others.”