Driving During the Holiday Season
THE HOLIDAY SEASON: THE MOST DANGEROUS TIME TO DRIVE
Over 90 million Americans travel over the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s holidays to visit friends and family, and of those, nearly 27,000 are seriously injured in auto accidents, which makes the holiday season the most dangerous time of the year to be on the road. The week of Thanksgiving, in particular, is one of the deadliest weeks of the year for car accidents, and there are a number of reasons why. There will always be more car accidents as the number of cars on the road goes up, but when you tack on the fact that more people will be driving on unfamiliar roads, driving when it’s dark (thanks to Daylight Savings), driving in poor weather conditions, and driving after drinking alcoholic beverages, this makes for very dangerous roadways.
According to the National Safety Council (NSC), there are nearly 500 wrongful deaths and 46,000 people injured in car accidents each year over the travel period running from Wednesday evening through Sunday during the long Thanksgiving weekend. Additionally, the NSC estimates nearly 100 fatalities and 11,000 injuries over the Christmas holiday, and 200 fatalities over the New Year’s holiday. These numbers are eye-opening to say the least.
Tips for staying safe on the road
To make sure all Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s travelers make it to their destination safely, the attorneys of Abbott Law Group put together a list of helpful recommendations:
- Make sure your car is in working order, checking the air pressure in tires, mirrors, windshield wipers and fluid, and oil before taking a long road trip.
- Use your seat belt at all times.
- Use caution in construction zones.
- Do not use your cell phone while driving.
- Obey the speed limit and all other traffic laws.
- Make sure you get enough rest so that you will not fall asleep at the wheel.
- Rotate drivers during long road trips.
- Don’t tailgate other vehicles.
- Make sure your taillights, headlights, signal lights, and windows are clean.
- If car troubles develop while driving, pull off the road as far as possible.
The attorneys of Abbott Law Group hope everyone stays safe while driving over the holiday season.