My Advice For Avoiding Car Crashes This Holiday Season

Stay off the road on New Year’s. When I was a teenager, my parents would not let me drive or ride in a car on New Year’s eve. I thought they were being over protective, and generally they were. Nonetheless, the advice is still good. According to the Maryland State Police, Maryland suffered 171 alcohol related fatal car crashes last year, with 6 fatalities between December 30, 2011, and January 3, 2012.

Also according to the Maryland State Police: “The holiday season is a particularly dangerous time of year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports more than 2,500 people lost their lives in crashes and 775 of those crashes involved impaired drivers in December 2010.” http://www.mdsp.org/Default.aspx

One of the big problems with driving on New Year’s eve is that no matter how prudent and careful you may be, the other driver could be drunk, tired, or distracted. No amount of defensive driving can protect you from the worst of the drunk drivers. The only fool-proof way to avoid the increased number of drunk drivers is to stay off the road, and keep your loved-ones home with you.

By Craig I. Meyers, Esq.