The holiday season is a special time often spent with loved ones. With all the excitement of the days ahead, don’t forget that driving becomes much more dangerous at this time. With so many visits taking place this month, more people will be on the road. Reckless driving also increases because of the pressures and norms that surround holiday activities, such as alcohol consumption. Trying to get places on time pressures some people to speed or make hasty, irresponsible moves on the roads.
Don’t let the pressures of the season make you a dangerous driver. Driving is already the most dangerous activity that most of us undertake on a daily basis, and this time of year’s weather and social events only add to that danger. Remember the following risks are not worth your life or the lives of other people.
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over
“Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Drive High get a DUI” are American national campaigns to raise awareness of the issues with, and consequences of, impaired driving. The campaign is “supported by increased law enforcement” across the country ready to catch drivers under the influence.
It is never acceptable to drive while drunk, high, or otherwise impaired. Drugs decrease your cognitive and physical abilities to operate a vehicle safely. Impaired driving is a global issue that doesn’t just affect the person driving under the influence, but more often will injure or kill someone else on the road.
In 2022, there were 13,524 people killed in drunk-driving crashes.
That is one death every 39 minutes. And “In December 2022 alone, 1,062 people died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes” in the U.S. Save a life by staying off the roads unless you are fully sober. Call a trusted friend or relation, a ride share, or a cab, or hop on public transit. Or arrange for overnight accommodations within a short walking distance of where you will be.
Slow and Steady
Visiting people over the holidays can be stressful. Getting all the gifts, food, and children ready and packed safely in the car and leaving on time can create tense, unpleasant feelings right before driving. But it is vital to your safety and the safety of your passengers and other road users that you maintain a cool, rational head while behind the wheel. Even if you are running late, do not speed. If the weather conditions are less than ideal it may not even be safe to follow posted speed limits. No amount of “saved” time is worth a crash or something worse, and speeding won’t even save you enough time to make any kind of noticeable dent in your arrival time.
Completing an average journey at 55mph instead of 50mph saves less than 60 seconds.
At the best you might arrive 55 seconds ahead of time, and at the worst you are risking death for yourself and many other people for those 45 seconds. That’s less time than you just spent reading to this point in this blog.
Passenger Peril
Passengers in your vehicle increase your chance of a crash. Any kind of distraction is dangerous, and other people can be extremely distracting. Especially when kids or pets are in the car, be mindful of their potential for distraction and take measures to combat this potential before setting off on the road.
Before driving, remind passengers to be quiet and calm while they are in a vehicle. Make sure they are aware of the dangers of distracted driving and how important it is for a driver to be fully focused on driving and not on anything else within the vehicle. Many serious accidents have happened because of distraction from passengers. If someone in the vehicle becomes too distracting, pull over to a safe, out-of-the-way area to figure out the best way to handle it before you drive again.
This holiday season, remember to stay off the roads unless you are sober, calm, and visibility is good. Everyone you visit this season would much rather you arrive late than never arrive at all.
Wishing you happy and safe holidays from Alertdriving.
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