Personal Injury Law

Peak holiday travel increases risk of Chicago car accidents

By Kris Briggs

This holiday season it is likely with the economy still in turmoil and the price of airfare skyrocketed that more people will be headed to family gatherings in their personal vehicles. The best advice we can adhere to is to be patient and don?t let the stress of the holidays and traffic inconveniences be the cause of a Chicago car accident.

No one wants to end the year or start a brand new year on a dismal note. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System, there were a total of 1,719 fatalities on Christmas Day (640), New Year?s Eve (75) and New Year?s Day (1,004). Illinois accounted for 39 of these traffic fatalities, (12, 2, and 25 respectively).

Instead of stressing about the traffic congestion there may be some things you can do to make your family road trip a little more enjoyable this year. Kids have a tough time sitting in cars for long periods of time. Most vehicles come equipped or can be hooked up with video equipment but there are also some stimulating games you can play as a family. Road trip games can include alphabet, word, geography, songs, and twenty questions to name a few. Road games are good because they pass the time and keep everyone interacting.

In order to avoid additional holiday stressors when you travel to relatives, there are a few things you can do to help eliminate your stress:

-Pack up the car the evening before you leave so that all you have to do the next morning before leaving is double check you haven?t forgotten anything.

-Do a quick check on the car to make sure everything is working properly (for example, the heater, windshield wipers, sufficient air in the tires, etc)

- Double check the house before you leave to make sure everything is turned off and adjusted ? you don?t want to have to worry if the house is going to burn down or get broken into while you are celebrating the holidays elsewhere.

-Allow plenty of time for stops so that normal holiday travel dangers like speeding, aggressive driving, distracted driving, and traffic congestion don?t become a concern.

Full post as published by Illinois Injury Law Blog on December 23, 2010 (boomark / email).