The AAA Travel Forecast Archives states hundreds of thousands of more people are on the road between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. The 10 to 17-day period between Christmas and New Year’s sees an average 23% spike in travel, with over 100 million people traveling more than 50 miles from home the week of Christmas.
In addition to more traffic, there is an increase in intoxicated drivers around the holidays. The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day sees around 25,000 injuries from drunk driving accidents alone.
In 2021, fatal motor vehicle accident predictions for the holiday travel period provided by the National Safety Council (NSC) included 515 deaths during Thanksgiving, 371 during Christmas, and 427 during New Year’s. According to the NSC, alcohol is a major contributing factor to these accidents.
You Can Help Reduce the Risks
You can do your part this Holiday Season by committing to drive safely. This includes:
- Don’t drive and drive
- Avoid all forms of distraction
- Obey traffic signs and signals
- Avoid aggressive maneuvers such as tailgating
- Use your turn signals
- Allow extra space between your vehicle and the one in front of you
Recognize there will be extra traffic on the road when traveling during the holidays. Give yourself extra time to get to your destination, drive carefully and cautiously and anticipate poor driving behaviors from those around you. This can help to ensure you are extra vigilant to avoid causing or becoming the victim of an accident.
Your actions can only do so much to prevent an accident. If you are injured while traveling this holiday season, call us at 405-232-6490 to schedule a free case review and learn about your options. We serve victims of serious injury living throughout Oklahoma from our office in OKC.
