Contrary to popular belief in that Christmas, New Year’s Eve or even St. Patrick’s Day to be the worse days for drivers, it’s really Thanksgiving Day in which the police, hospitals and firefighters get the busiest with an increasing number of accidents often caused by pilots.
Just in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the origins of these mishaps rely on heavy drinking, dense traffic and unprepared long-distance car trips on the driver’s part.
Other reports from this institution also claim that the increase of airline fares have contributed to more people cramming their way with four or more hour trips by car without any rest, and that also involves activities such as drinking and that’s where the problems arise.
Another important factor was also sleepy drivers. Drowsy driving is often the cause of 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries and 100,000 crashes a year, according to the latest statistics from the NHTSA. So, long weekends are directly proportional to more traffic, therefore users are more prone to traffic accidents.
And on top of that, investigative reports from York University in Toronto show that confinement in a vehicle during prolonged periods of time, usually on holidays, can lead to aggressive and reckless driving due to a feeling of stress linked with some sort of vengeance.
So, yes, you could say the curse of the long weekend actually exists. Especially when it comes to Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day, given that they always fall near Saturday or Sunday, making it a three or even four day weekend.
With that being said, the latest reports show that the average vehicular deaths in Thanksgiving is 573, followed closely by Independence Day with 505, and Memorial Day and Labor Day with 493 and 488 each.
And given that 30-60% more people die in car accidents on the weekends than during the week on normal days, it makes it more probable that parties or special events that fall on a Friday or a Saturday will run more risks.
You could consider other options, such as train, or someone responsible enough to get you to your destination, but if you have no option but to drive, remember to wear a seatbelt and split your journey into one or two stops to rest a bit, eat, drink water, go to the bathroom and continue. You may not get to your destiny exactly on time, but at least you get to do so safely. Safety and good health should be above anything.
I Went from Paying $600 a month for Car Insurance to only $111 a month!
To do the same Visit Save489.com and Enter your Zip code and within a few minutes you’ll have quotes which will help you save hundreds per month!