Safe Driving Tips for the Holidays

It’s hard to believe that the 2017 holiday season is about to commence.  It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the year goes by and we find ourselves back in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, but before we all get too busy preparing pies or just eating them, we at Tragos, Sartes & Tragos would like to make you aware of four of the most dangerous, and common driving risks which we hope will make your holiday season safer.

1. Distracted driving.  This includes driving while using your cell phone for both talking and texting holiday messages to friends, coworkers, and family.  Believe it or not, many of the people on the road during the holidays will be checking out store hours, locations and price shopping on their smartphones while driving back and forth to work.
2. Impaired driving.  All of those year-end dinners, holiday parties, and celebrations typically involve the consumption of alcohol and in too many cases the use of drugs.  Statistically, there is an increased number of impaired drivers using the roadways during the winter holidays and it is well-established by law enforcement that the loss of life resulting from impaired drivers balloons during the holiday season.
3. Pressured driving.  The winter holiday typically brings with it an increased pressure, especially financial pressures, and the stress is created by trying to do as much as you can in the short amount of time between Thanksgiving and New Years.  Drivers often react to these pressures by driving too fast for conditions, making aggressive lane changes, failure to yield the right of way and generally disregarding the needs and safety of others using the road.
4. Fatigued driving.  Increased demand and activities during the winter holidays often leads to significantly reduced sleep schedules.  According to a study by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety people who slept 6 to 7 hours a night were twice as likely to be involved in a crash as those sleeping 8 hours or more, while people sleeping less than 5 hours increased their risk to four to five times.

It is not uncommon for a single driver to manifest all four dangerous driving behaviors at the same time especially in the final 10 days of the year.

When taken into consideration with the congestion that we see here in Florida, as well as the presence of our seasonal residents and tourists, these hazards make it all the more complicated to navigate the roadways during the holidays.

We hope that you enjoy the holiday season and we want you all to be safe.