Do your Thanksgiving plans include travel by car this year? While air travel presents its own set of dangers, e.g., turbulence and encounters with hostile fellow travelers, you might be surprised at the enhanced risk associated with driving on Thanksgiving.
Learn more about why this holiday is perceived as such a dangerous time for ground travel.
It starts with “Blackout Wednesday”
The day before the big dinner with extended family and loved ones earned the moniker “Blackout Wednesday” or “Drinksgiving” because of the major uptick in sales of beer and alcohol at restaurants and bars nationwide.
This can be accounted for, in part, by the number of university students and others of legal drinking age returning to their hometowns and gathering for meetups with their local friends with whom they may not have spent much time in months or years.
Then, too, there is the stress of family gatherings that can literally drive some people to drink in order to get through the encounter without a verbal altercation.
What the numbers say
One Midwestern man conducted a data analysis of the statistics surrounding fatal auto collisions provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). He focused on the highway deaths that occurred in the span of years from 2007 and 2021 on major American holidays.
The results determined that, on average, 405 fatal wrecks happen annually on Thanksgiving. That number, according to the NHTSA, is nearly three times the average for all other days in November.
If you have a Thanksgiving accident
Hopefully, your Thanksgiving celebrations will go off without a hitch this year. But if you are unfortunately seriously injured in an auto accident, you may have the right to seek compensation from any liable parties.
