Thanksgiving Is Peak Time For New Haven Auto Accidents

It is the time of year where we all get together and celebrate what we are grateful for throughout the year.  We gather as a group to eat, drink and be merry.  It is also a time where there are a lot of people traveling and our roads are much more congested then usual.  In fact, this year, AAA is estimating that in 2022 there were be well over 50 million people who will travel, by car, more than 50 miles during this upcoming Thanksgiving weekend.  On a normal travel weekend, it is important that you pay attention to your safety while driving, but on a Thanksgiving weekend there are far more chances that you may wind up in a New Haven auto accident if you’re not approaching driving with care.

It’s not just the volume of traffic on Thanksgiving weekend that becomes the problem, but also there are some factors that drivers should be aware of and cautioned against so that they stay safe when on the roads.  For instance, the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is sometimes referred to as “Blackout Wednesday” and it has been known to be one of the night throughout the year where there is the most drinking and driving.  Many people head out to celebrate with friends at a bar or restaurant before they head home to see family and the roads become less safe.

If you are planning on heading out for a night out on the town on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving you should absolutely designate a driver or rely on a ride share service like Uber to get you home safely and without any issues.  Even better, go have a great time partying at a friends house and stay there the night.  When you wake up in the morning you can wish her/him a Happy Thanksgiving and then be on your way to celebrate with your family.

One other concern during the holiday weekend is drowsy driving.  It may be a played out trope, but getting tired after eating a big turkey dinner is a real thing and it happens to millions of people each year.  If you’ve been to someone’s house and eaten a large turkey dinner and you didn’t skimp on dessert, you may want to stay put for a few hours after the dinner so you can make sure you are well rested before sitting down to drive.  If you are feeling even the slight bit tired, you should ask someone else to drive or use a ride share app to get home and head back the next day to retrieve your car.

The common perception of a big turkey dinner is that the tryptophan in turkey causes drowsiness, but truth be told, it is likely the carbohydrates that are often served with the turkey like mashed potatoes and dinner rolls that cause you to be drowsy after eating a big Thanksgiving dinner.  No matter what the culprit is, you cannot drive drowsy because experts believe that drowsy driving is the equivalent to drunk driving.

Lastly on this Thanksgiving weekend you should guard against driving angry or sad.  For many Thanksgiving is a happy time to be shared with friends and family, but for others it can be a difficult time that stirs emotions and causes  anger or sadness to bubble to the surface.  If you fall into this bucket of people who may not be celebrating, you might want to consider not getting behind the wheel with these feelings.  They can be distracting and cause your mind to drift away from the task at hand of safe driving.

Thanksgiving weekend is almost here and keeping in mind the items outlined above, if you are safe and skip these things you will be in a much better position to avoid a New Haven auto accident and arrive at your destination happy and healthy.

If you do get injured, you may need to speak with an attorney who has experience with your type of accident.  Contact our office and one of our experienced attorneys will review your situation and work with you to protect your long-term interests.