One of the key parts of going to see family or taking a trip around a holiday is deciding how you are going to get there. If it’s across the country, you might take a flight to your destination. If you are simply crossing one state border to see relatives, you might pack the family into the car and take a little road trip.
The problem is that many other people are doing the same thing as you. The increased traffic on the roads during certain times of the year can create a lot of issues if drivers aren’t careful. All of the same safety techniques and driving skills that you have under your belt need to be applied on holidays.
Holiday accident statistics are very deadly for specific holidays. We’ll talk about several of the worst holidays to drive on, how you can avoid getting into an accident on those days, and what happens if you do crash. It’s also important to talk about why some holidays are more deadly than others.
Summer Holidays
The five most deadly holidays to travel on the roads are Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, Father’s Day, and Cinco de Mayo. You may immediately notice the common trend here is that all five of these holidays are summer ones.
This goes against stereotypes surrounding how dangerous it is to drive on days like New Year’s Eve or Christmas. The enormous significance of these days, along with the fact that there is usually snow on the roads during them, has led most of us to assume that these famous winter holidays are the most dangerous.
The reality that the summer holidays are more fatal means we have to figure out why they are so deadly and what drivers can do to avoid getting into an accident.
The top two holidays for accidents, Memorial Day and Labor Day, are two of the top summer camping days every year. They unofficially mark the beginning and end of summer, and families all over the country are looking to take advantage of the summer sun for the first and last times.
Remember the positive aspects of these holidays on the road. As we said before, there’s no snow during the summer holidays. There are no natural or other weather conditions that will make it harder to drive. There are plenty of other frustrations that can occur on the road during these holidays that may be the cause of so many accidents.
With an increase in people on the road, rage between drivers is very common. Everyone wants to get to their destination on time because it’s a three-day weekend. Drivers are tired of working all spring when they get to Memorial Day. They are upset about having to go back to work after summer vacations when we get to Labor Day.
The attitude of the average driver is they don’t have time to put up with the ignorance of other people, and many folks will take out their anger in all the wrong ways. If you can just treat others the way you want to be treated, it becomes much easier to give respect to everyone else on the road.
Drunk Driving During Holidays
The other huge culprit for bad driving on the road during the summer holidays is that many of these events come with drinking alcohol. It’s never okay to drive a car after having drinks. Choose a designated driver, or wait to take your trip back home until the next day when everyone is sober.
You can still have fun without getting drunk. Try subbing in a non-alcoholic beverage at your family gathering if you know that you will be driving that night. Go online and look for the best recipes for non-alcoholic drinks. This will give your family and friends something fun to make at the barbeque.
Think about all that you could be sacrificing if you make the wrong choice to drink and drive. One fun party is not worth hurting yourself and others. There are other ways to relieve stress and enjoy the season. What about planning to give your car a makeover on holidays?
If you keep all of these things in mind, you can revitalize your summer in no time flat and get to your destination in one piece.
Thanksgiving and Halloween: The Two Dangerous Winter Holidays
While Christmas and New Year’s Eve are surprisingly safe to be on the road, Thanksgiving and Halloween are the two fall/winter holidays that see quite a few fatal accidents. These days are the ninth and eighth most dangerous ones on the road, respectively.
Thanksgiving is only a four-day weekend for most people. With the amount of shopping that comes before the holiday, people are usually already stressed when they hit the road to see their family. Try to stretch the preparation for the holiday out a couple of weeks beforehand so you don’t have to rush and get stressed.
Check the weather forecast the night before you leave and think about any snow or rain that is going to take place where you are driving. Try not to cross any mountains if you don’t have to, as this is a bad time of year to go on mountain passes. Research an alternative route to take.
Black Friday, the huge shopping day after Thanksgiving, is also a potentially dangerous day to drive. Consider shopping for the sales you want to take advantage of online.
It’s outdated to run to the store at midnight after you’ve just been eating and drinking at Thanksgiving dinner. We have internet access now, right? Shop for presents on the web and save the trouble of traffic.
Halloween can be dangerous because so many people are driving their children to different neighborhoods to trick-or-treat. Consider staying as close to your house as possible so you avoid traffic and drunk drivers. Adults often get irresponsible when they go to Halloween parties, so it’s best to stay off the road.
We can conclude that the reason for most of the accidents that occur on holidays is due to drunk driving and the sheer amount of traffic on the road. If people avoid alcohol and try to plan out their trips in advance to avoid traffic, there should be a lot fewer fatalities on American roads during these special days of the year.
