I think that different time frames have their own unique dangers.
Nighttime with very little traffic can be much safer overall - unless there's an impaired aggressive idiot driving. Rush hour dangers, yes, but then everyone's doing pretty much the same thing, with little room to be independently stupid.
I've found that, where I commute, the least desirable times can be between the rush hours, when everybody's doing something different, and there's more room for people to do dumb things.