16 Dec 2015 Staying Safe This Holiday Season
The Christmas season—a couple of days before Christmas day and a few days after New Year—is the busiest time of the year. And probably the most dangerous. Statistically, there are more road accidents during the Christmas season than any other holiday period.
Historically, there are more accidents during the holidays than the rest of the year. The Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) noted that road accidents are highest during Easter and Christmas. Based on their study, there was an average of 58 fatal accidents over Christmas from 2003 to 2014. There was an average of 26 fatal accidents during Easter over the same period.
“Speed, alcohol, drugs, fatigue, mobile phone use and seatbelts are just some of the areas police will be targeting because we know these are the biggest killers on our roads,” the ANZPAA stated. These are the most common reasons for fatal accidents on any given day. This is heightened during the Christmas season. For one, alcohol is abundant during the Christmas period due to partying and general holiday celebrations. Speed is also an issue, and being distracted (texting and reading messages on a mobile phone) while driving are major reasons for serious road accidents.
Listed below are some tips from The National Road and Motoring Association on how to stay safe this Christmas and all year round:
- Have your car serviced and checked so that it will be ready for emergencies.
- Rest before a long drive and plan the trip with regular breaks to avoid fatigue
- When planning to have a drink, don’t drive.
- Brush up on good driving techniques.
- Keep the phone away while driving.
- Know the speed limit.