Icy roads, crowded highways, stressed shoppers, frolicking kids, soused party-goers — all conspire to make the holiday season the most dangerous time of year for drivers and pedestrians. Speeding is a factor in almost a third of all traffic fatalities, so there are plenty of reasons to slow down.
Here are five particularly good ones, courtesy of Autobytel’s “Take the Pledge to Slow Down” safe-driving campaign:
1. Because death definitely doesn’t take a holiday. During the past decade, roughly 13,500 traffic fatalities occurred on the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day holiday periods; and nearly 5,000 (or about 37 percent) of those deaths were speeding-related. The upward trend in speeding-related deaths actually starts after October, culminating on New Year’s Day — the deadliest day for speeding-related fatalities of any date on the calendar. A lot of those fatalities aren’t drivers or passengers; pedestrians account for nearly 13 percent of all crash deaths. New Year’s Day and Halloween have the highest average pedestrian death rates, each averaging 24 pedestrian deaths. And all of the other days with at least 20 pedestrian deaths fall between October and December, a particularly dangerous month for speeding because so many kids are out of school and playing near (slippery) neighborhood streets.
2. Because it’s a busy, busy time on U.S. highways. It’s estimated that more than 35 million people drove 50 miles or more from home on Thanksgiving weekend, and that another 50 million-plus will drive 50 or more miles during the Christmas season to visit friends and family. If you speed, you’ll only add to the congestion, chaos and stress on the roads, as well as risk your own and others’ chances to make it safely to your holiday destination.
3. Because too many drivers have had too much “holiday cheer.” Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day 2003, there were 4,147 traffic fatalities on American roads — and a full 38 percent of them were alcohol-related. On New Year’s Eve, there were 219 traffic deaths and more than 61 percent were alcohol-related, and on Super Bowl Sunday there were 113 traffic deaths and 54.9 percent of them were alcohol-related. The bottom line: Drunk drivers are out in force — and wreaking havoc — during the holidays, impaired by poor judgment and slow reaction times. If you’re speeding, you’re just adding another shot of danger to what’s already a deadly cocktail of driving hazards.
4. Because speeding on icy roads is a slippery slope to trouble. Accelerating, stopping, turning — everything takes longer, and is far more dangerous, on snow and ice-covered roads. For example, a car traveling roughly 60 mph on dry pavement requires about 60 yards to come to a compete stop. But even a thin layer of frost can more than double that stopping distance to roughly 145 yards. And a road covered in packed snow increases that distance to 288 yards — nearly five times as far! So unless you have about three football fields of distance between you and any hard objects, it’s a good idea to slow down. In addition to driving at a safe rate of speed, remember to accelerate and decelerate slowly on snowy roads. Gentle pressure on the accelerator is the best method for avoiding skids and retaining traction. And if the “rule of thumb” following distance is 2 to 3 seconds on dry pavement, increase it to 8 to 10 seconds in slippery, slick or icy conditions.
5. Because you don’t want a “special holiday gift” from a traffic cop As the year comes to close, police departments generally step up highway patrols to nab drunk drivers. While they’re at it, rest assured they’ll also be flashing their radar guns. The average cost of a speeding ticket, including court fees, runs about $150. And in some states driving 5 to 10 miles over the speed limit results in a ticket costing nearly $200, while driving 15 to 20 miles over the limit will cost upwards of $275. Meanwhile, the average insurance increase over three years from a speeding ticket runs roughly $300, so a single speeding ticket can end up setting you back $450 to $575! So before you speed, consider whether you can afford it on top of all the other costs associated with the holidays.
And don’t forget the best reason of all: It’s the holidays — time to relax and enjoy your family and friends, to spread goodwill and cheer.
To take AutoBytel’s “Pledge to Slow Down,” visit http://www.autobytel.com/content/research/index.cfm?action=ShowArticle&aid=138204.
Surf for safety information Some great safe driving tips, especially for the holidays: http://ezinearticles.com/?Safe-Driving-Tips-For-The-Holiday-Season&id=108934 http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/holiday.htm http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/winter.htm http://www.dot.state.ia.us/tips.pdf Facts and statistics about drinking and driving during the holidays: http://www.health.org/seasonal/healthyholiday/drinkdrive.aspx
Ten ways to make your teen’s ‘ride’ safer: http://www.autoweb.com/content/research/index.cfm/action/showArticle/aid/138203 The best ways to avoid getting a ticket: http://www.womanmotorist.com/index.php/news/main/2607/event=view
Party Planning Tips (hints & non-alcoholic recipes): Call the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at (800) 729-6686 or visit http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/seasonal/healthyholiday/host.aspx.
