It’s Election Day! How To Avoid A New Haven Personal Injury At Your Polling Place.

No wait! Do not look away. This post is not ABOUT the election. It is only about your safety. There will be no mention of who to vote for or which policies are right for New Haven, Connecticut or the country. This is just a public service announcement about how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe when you go to the polls to vote.

There are so many ways that a New Haven personal injury could occur when you are going to vote today that it is important to understand what these injury risks are and how you can go about avoiding them. If you’re planning on voting, it is important that you are able to do so without incident and without injury so you can do your civic duty and get back to your daily life.

Every polling place is different. Some, you will drive up to, park your car and head inside. Others may be right down the road from your home and you can walk there. Still other polling places are in crowded spaces where you have to navigate a number of different physical obstacles to get to the location where you can actually fill out your ballot. With all of these variations it is important to be on the lookout for the dangers that might arise at your particular location.

It’s also important to note that if you are a senior or have some sort of disability there are most certainly options for you to vote safely and without facing these obstacles.

With all of that being said, here are a few things to be on the lookout for when you’re on your way to the polling location;

1.) Traffic. High volumes of car traffic will be expected at many polling locations. This presents a number of problems including cars backing out of parking spots, driving around sharp corners and even parking in places where parking is not typically allowed due to overflow traffic. Your safest bet here is to take it slow. When you’re approaching a crowded area where traffic appears to be an issue, go slow. Your speed heading into a polling location will have a direct impact on your ability to drive safely. You should also make sure you are using your turn signals so you are specifying where you are headed for others who are sharing the parking lot and/or the road that you are on.

2.) Tripping hazards. If you’re walking into the polling location there are so many different tripping hazards that exist that if you aren’t careful you might wind up taking a sudden fall and making your trip the voting booth difficult. In this case you will want to make sure you are going slow as well and also keeping your eyes peeled for any tripping hazards. When you’re walking into a polling place there are a lot of things to look at, but the most important place you should have your eyes is on the sidewalk, stairs and road in front of you. If you are looking around instead of at your path ahead you may find yourself getting injured before you get a chance to cast your vote.

3.) Crowds. Depending on the time of the day you are heading out to go vote, you may run into long lines and crowded spaces. Not only might these things make you feel a little uncomfortable, but they may also put you in a situation where you would get injured. To avoid this risk you may want to try to find a time of the day when the polling places will be less crowded. Crowds typically gather when polls first open in the morning and then subside around mid-morning. Then crowds will pick up again after folks start to get out of work around 4p and they will stay quite crowded for most of the evening after that. If you can make it work, heading to the polls is something you should try to do between 10a-2p to avoid the crowds.

Probably the most important thing you can do to avoid a New Haven personal injury when you’re heading to the polls is to have a plan. If you can plan your visit to the polls you may be able to save yourself some time and avoid any dangerous situations. Your civic duty to vote in every election is important, but it should not be overshadowed by a risk to your physical safety. If you are concerned about how, when or where you will be able to vote you should contact city officials in your community to get a better feeling about how your specific polling location handles everything.

If you experience an injury when you’re heading to the polls you may need an attorney to help review your situation. Contact our office and one of our experienced attorneys will review your situation and work with you to protect your long-term interests.