The holidays are times of celebration and for gathering with friends and family. Many people choose to visit family and friends near and far for holiday gatherings, which means more people are on the roads during these times. Whether you are going down the road to visit someone or heading hours and miles away, it is important to keep an eye out for potential accidents ahead. The more people on the road, the more the chances are for a car accident to occur. There’s never a good time to get in a wreck, but you especially don’t want to worry about suffering a car accident injury on a holiday. Hundreds of car accidents occur on holidays, especially when these holidays fall on or near a weekend. Continue on to find out which holidays are known for the most car accidents and how you can prepare for safe travels during these times.
Top 3 Holidays with the Most Car Accidents
Across the United States, these three holidays have the most car accidents each year. If you’re driving during these holidays, you should use extra caution to ensure the safety of yourself, your passengers, and others on the road.
4th of July
Independence Day is considered the deadliest holiday for car accidents in the United States. Celebrations for the 4th of July tend to occur on the actual date and into the weekend. That makes for lots of drivers on the road for multiple days as they travel from home to holiday celebrations and back. Independence Day is full of fun festivities like fireworks and barbeques with family and friends. This holiday is also known for its drinking celebrations, which can lead to hazardous conditions like impaired or drunk drivers on the roads.
Memorial Day Weekend
Summer holidays tend to have more car accidents because the kids are out of school so families can travel near and far for vacations and visiting family and friends. We observe Memorial Day on the last Monday each May to honor the men and women who have lost their lives while serving in the military. This holiday is also considered the official start of summer for many people, which means more people are on the roads. The more cars on the road, the more chances there are for a car accident.
Labor Day Weekend
Labor Day occurs on the first Monday of September and usually brings about the first long weekend since the kids went back to school. Families and friends enjoy celebrating Labor Day Weekend in the warm summer sun at nearby outdoor spaces like parks, lakes, and beaches. Celebrations for this holiday include lots of food and festivities, including drinking, which makes the roads more deadly when some people choose to drive impaired.
Hazards of Holiday Driving
Driving to visit friends and family and celebrate the holiday means there are more cars on the road than usual, which can lead to traffic. When there is lots of traffic, it is possible to get into a car accident like a fender-bender or rear-end collision. Because we tend to take trips with family and friends, that means more passengers in cars who are susceptible to car accident injuries. Holidays tend to cause spikes in statistics for car accidents each year because of the congestion on the roads. These statistics also spike because there are more drunk driving accidents around the holidays as well. Driving impaired can lead to serious car accidents that can even be fatal. Here are the 6 most common car accident injuries passengers face during a car crash.
How to Avoid Car Accident Injuries
You don’t have to completely avoid driving on holidays and miss out on all the fun. Instead, take precautions and make sure you or the driver are aware of their surroundings on the road. Most fatal car accidents occur later in the evening and overnight due to drunk drivers, so plan your trips during daylight when there is better visibility too. Try to schedule any long travels a few days before the holiday or plan to leave a few days after so you can avoid the more common driving hours for cars driving to and from family and friends. You can also help avoid experiencing a car accident injury by wearing your seat belt appropriately at all times. Here are some of the most common seat belt injuries from car accidents to watch out for.
If you do get in a car accident at any time, especially around the holidays, then visit a car accident doctor at AICA Orthopedics who can help. Our teams of car accident doctors are highly trained and specialize in treating all types of car accident injuries no matter what time of year.
