Plan Ahead to Get Home Safely This Holiday Season

 Posted on December 23, 2015 in Hartford personal injury lawyer

The winter holidays are a time for getting together with family, friends, and loved ones. For many, Christmas and New Year’s celebrations involve alcohol, which, combined with the travel that is often necessary, can create serious dangers on area roadways.

According to estimates from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, drunk-driving related fatalities increase by nearly 25 percent during the Christmas holiday period. An average of 45 deaths involving alcohol-impaired drivers occur every day between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, with many thousands more injured. While we certainly encourage you to enjoy the holidays this year, we would like to remind you to make arrangements as needed so that you can avoid the dangers of drunk driving.

Choose a Designated Driver or Be One

Awareness campaigns and educational programs for years have been reminding those who drink to always ride with someone who has not been drinking. One of the best ways to prepare for safe travels is to have a plan in place ahead of time about who will be driving. The driver can then make decisions accordingly during the festivities to ensure that everyone under his or her care gets home safely. If others have been the designated driver in the past, maybe this year, you can return the favor.

Call a Taxi or an Uber

Public transportation during the holidays can be rather unpredictable, but if you do not have a designated driver or another safe ride home, calling a cab is always an option. You could also consider utilizing a Web-based ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft. In late summer, Uber announced significant rate cuts for passengers in the Hartford area, making it an even more attractive option this holiday season. While the thought of paying for a ride home—and possibly back to your vehicle the next day—may not seem ideal, doing so would be much less expensive than a DUI charge or an insurance claim if you cause an accident.

Overnight Accommodations

This Christmas season, AAA is predicting that more than 91 million people will travel 50 miles or more on the nation’s roadways to reach holiday destinations. If travel is in your plans, even nearby, and you know that you plan to drink, consider making arrangements to stay overnight. Of course, scheduling and space constraints may not make such a plan possible, but it in many cases—and especially if the host is a close friend or family member—a little inconvenience is preferable to a preventable tragedy.

Help for Your Injury Case

Even if you take every possible precaution to avoid drunk driving this holiday season, the actions or negligence of others can still leave you severely injured following an accident. If you have been hurt in any type of auto accident, contact an experienced Hartford personal injury attorney. At the Woolf Law Firm, LLC, we are committed to helping you get the compensation you need and the justice you deserve. Call 860-290-8690 to schedule your free initial consultation today.

Sources:

http://responsibility.org/get-the-facts/research/statistics/drunk-driving-fatalities/

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-hartford-uber-0818-20150818-story.html