Ask any police officer who is taking statements after an accident
and I'm sure they have heard the words "I was in a hurry" more than
once. 
  My mail route is on a very busy thoroughfare and I have noticed
more nuts on the road between 11:30AM and 1:30PM. Ah, the lunch break.
Most people have a limited time frame in order to take their lunches.
I witness at least one accident per week and it's almost always between these hours. Limited time and a growling stomach can make
dangerous drivers out of the best of them. They may see the crossing
gates or the bus in the other lane but choose to take a chance because
it may give them an extra minute or two for lunch. Those of us in the service and transit industries see it all the time. It hasn't happened
to me yet, but I take extra special care during lunch time. 
  To get this back on topic, I'm sure the PRCo/PAT motormen saw this
all the time, especially in downtown Pittsburgh. The dings and dents
in the old trolley cars confirm. It would be very interesting to me
to look over the PRCo/PAT accident reports and find out what percentage of fender benders involving transit vehicles happened
during the lunch hours.

                            Mark