Thanksgiving Holiday Car Crash\Accident Warning-
Information from Car Crash Lawsuit Lawyers/Attorneys

Thanksgiving is one of the most dangerous weekends for auto accidents of the year in the United States. Factors such as alcohol, icy roads, and extra traffic on the roads make driving more hazardous and dangerous than most other weekends of the year. Below you can read about statistics for thanksgiving driving from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a car crash, fill out this simple form for a case review within one buisness day. It is free and there is no commitment.

Safety Belts Save Lives

•  Safety belts are the single most effective way to protect your family in vehicle crashes.

•  Seventy-five percent of the passenger vehicle occupants who were in fatal crashes in 2004 and were restrained, survived the crash.

•  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 31,693 people died in passenger vehicle crashes during 2004 – and more than half of those killed were NOT wearing their safety belts at the time of the crash.

•  Although national safety belt use increased to a record 82 percent in 2005 (up from 58 percent since 1994), there are still too many people who choose not to regularly wear their safety belts.

•  Of great concern is the fact that belt use is far lower in the rear seat than the front. A detailed survey in 2004 showed that only 47 percent of rear-seats passengers in 2005 were belted, compared to 80 percent in the front seat.

•  Women continue to use safety belts more than men do. In 2004, 83 percent of female motorists were belted, compared to 77 percent of males.

Young Males, Teens/Young Adults, and Pickup Truck Drivers Still at Greatest Risk

•  In 2002, motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death for males and females from 3 to 33 years old.

•  Men – especially younger men – are much less likely to buckle up. In 2004, 67 percent of male drivers and 73 percent of male passengers between the ages of 18-and 34 who were killed in crashes were NOT wearing their safety belts.

•  Teens and young adults, both males and females, between the ages of 16-and 24 are the age group least likely to wear their safety belts – dropping to a 77 percent belt use rate compared to 84 percent among boys and girls in the 8-to 15 age range.

•  Safety belt use in the Nation’s rural areas also consistently trails the national average, with pick-up truck drivers among those least likely to buckle up.

•  In 2004, observed safety belt use among pickup truck drivers and passengers was only 70 percent (compared to the 80 percent national belt use average in all vehicles.)

•  Even more alarming, the ejection rate for occupants of pickup trucks involved in fatal crashes is nearly double the rate for passenger car occupants – because pickup trucks in fatal crashes roll over twice as often as passenger cars.

•  You can increase your odds of survival in a rollover crash in a light truck by nearly 80 percent if you wear your safety belt.

Children Must Be Properly Restrained, Too.

•  Parents are getting the message: 99 percent of all American infants under 1 year old are now restrained.

•  Older children need to be in the appropriate restraint and properly installed for their size and age.

•  Unfortunately, 8 out of 10 child restraints are improperly installed.

•  One study showed that children who are moved from child safety seats to regular vehicle safety belts too early are four times more likely to sustain a serious head injury in a crash than those restrained in child safety seats or booster seats. The easiest way to remember is “if they are under 4’9”, they need to be in a booster seat.”

•  Use rear-facing infant seats in the back seat from birth to at least 1 year of age and until they weigh at least 20 pounds;

•  Use forward-facing toddler seats in the back seat from age 1 and at least 20 pounds to about age 4 and 40 pounds;

•  Use booster seats in the back seat from about age 4 to at least age 8, unless the child is 4’ 9” tall.

•  Use safety belts at age 8 and older or taller than 4‘9 ”. ALL children age 12 and under should ride in the back seat.

“Click It or Ticket”

•  Many part-time safety belt users say they forget or just fail to wear their safety belts on shorter trips or when traveling close to home.

•  Yet, deadly traffic crashes can and do happen anywhere at any time – in your neighborhood, on your way to work, when driving your kids to school, or when running errands close to home.

•  During the holidays, long trips far from home can be even more deadly.

•  That is why law enforcement officials will be out in force protecting families this Thanksgiving weekend showing zero tolerance for those not buckled up.

•  This is not about writing more tickets. It is about saving more lives.

•  This Thanksgiving weekend, unless you want to risk a ticket – or worse, your life – always remember to “Click It or Ticket.”

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source:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA)

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