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Colder season holidays go hand-in-hand with drunk driving

On Behalf of | Oct 31, 2019 | Uncategorized

With the looming end of fall, the winter holiday season has begun to gain momentum. You may have already noticed that major retailers have begun putting Christmas decorations and products out on display. The countdown to the busiest shopping days of the year has started, and the holiday ruckus that follows is surely close behind.

Unfortunately, while the holidays give people a chance to reconnect with family and loved ones, they can also be a major source of stress. From trying to balance gift-giving on a tight budget to dealing with the stress of family members you’d rather not spend time with, there are many aspects of the holiday season that leave people looking for some kind of escape.

Quite a few will turn to alcohol, likely while they are at holiday celebrations. All of that alcohol consumption results in an increase in the number of drunk driving crashes and fatalities that occur.

Major holidays and holiday weekends are dangerous days for drivers

Although the summer is the time of year that statistically has the most dangerous driving days of the entire year, that doesn’t mean that the winter holiday season isn’t dangerous. In fact, it isn’t far from the Fourth of July in terms of overall risk to the public.

The day before Thanksgiving is notoriously one of the most popular days for people to go drinking. The days before and after Christmas, as well as the day before and after New Year’s, are also times when the average risk for drunk driving accidents increases around the country.

All of those people out partying still need to get home at the end of the night. Too many of them will put their own convenience ahead of safety and choose to drive in an impaired state instead of just going home in an Uber or a taxi.

Help yourself stay safe on the holiday roads

There are a few tips to help you avoid the increased driving risk around the holidays. You could commit this holiday season to keep yourself sober to improve the safety of the people you love. After all, if you are sober to drive, you can help a loved one avoid the mistake of getting behind the wheel after a few extra drinks.

When you’re headed to a party or home from one, you should also be on the lookout for warning signs of impaired driving on the road, including swerving and erratic behavior. Of course, nothing you do can protect you from the bad decisions of others.

In the event that you get into a crash caused by a driver whom you believe is drunk, make sure you tell law enforcement of your suspicions and do your best to document what occurs at the scene of the crime, including the other driver potentially trying to get rid of evidence that implicates them.

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