As the holidays rapidly approach, many people in the New Port Richey area are planning on taking road trips to see friends and family throughout the country. In fact, according the United States Bureau of Travel Statistics1 (BTS), the number of long-distance trips increases by 54 percent during the 6-day Thanksgiving travel period.
Holiday road trips should be fun and relaxing, and they often are. Unfortunately, however, they can also result in disaster. Any type of travel increases your risk of involvement in an accident, and statistics consistently indicate that accidents spike around the holidays due to factors like more drunk drivers on the road and heavier traffic.
Victims of holiday road trip accidents are often entitled to financial compensation, so anyone hurt in a crash should talk to a lawyer about their legal options. The ideal situation, however, is to not have to speak to an attorney at all. Fortunately for people who are planning a holiday road trip, there are certain steps that you can take to reduce your risk of involvement in an accident. These include the following:
Have Your Car Checked Out by a Mechanic
The first step to making sure your holiday road trip is as safe as possible is to make sure that your vehicle is in good condition and safe to drive. Take your car, truck, van, or another vehicle to a trusted mechanic and ask him or her to perform a thorough safety check. Make sure this check involves checking fluid levels, windshield wipers, tire tread, lights, and other equipment that is essential to safe driving.
Plan Your Trip
If you are driving a particularly long distance, make sure that you plan your trip and set goals for each day of driving. Make sure to reserve a room at your overnight stop ahead of time, as hotels and motels can get booked quickly during peak travel season. The last thing you want to have happen is to be stuck without a place to sleep with a significant amount of driving still ahead of you.
Check the Weather
New Port Richey residents do not have to content with the winter weather conditions that can affect other parts of the country. Driving in conditions like snow and ice can be treacherous, even for drivers who live in climates who get winter weather regularly. Check the weather along your route and avoid driving through patches of bad weather. If it is impossible to do so, consider canceling your trip and seeing friends and family some other time.
What to Do if You are Involved in an Accident?
Unfortunately, some accidents are unavoidable, and holiday accident will occur this year as they always do. If you are involved in a holiday accident and are not too injured to stay at the scene of the accident, you should collect information about accident, including the names of any other drivers that were involved, their insurance information, and the license plate numbers of the other vehicles, you should also be sure to see a physician as soon as you can. Finally, you should call an attorney immediately and refrain from making statements about the accident to others or on social media.
Call a New Port Richey Personal Injury Attorney Today to Schedule a Free Consultation
If you are injured on a road trip this holiday season or have already been involved in an accident, you should contact an experienced lawyer as soon as you can. In many cases, victims can recover compensation for the losses they have sustained, including their medical expenses, lost income, property damage, loss of quality of life, and physical and emotional pain and suffering. To schedule a free consultation with one of our lawyers, call the Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA today at 727-853-6275. You can also reach us via email by completing and submitting our online contact form here.
DOLMAN LAW GROUP – NEW PORT RICHEY OFFICE