What Time of Year Do Most Car Accidents Happen?

What Time of Year Do Most Car Accidents Happen?

Any car accident attorney will tell you that accidents happen more often when people drive negligently. To determine what time of year most of them happen, you can first consider when people drive most carelessly.

A quick look at the numbers tells us that there’s an uptick in car accidents during the winter holidays, starting on Thanksgiving and lasting through New Year’s Day.

Negligence and the Holidays

Celebratory attitudes lend to the happy feelings people experience on holidays. But some people turn celebratory into careless while behind the wheel. They exhibit a blatant disregard for others by driving in ways that put others, and themselves, at risk.

Speeding is a common manifestation of this disregard, but it takes other, sometimes more insidious forms.

Drunk Driving

The November-January holiday season sees a heavy increase in spending on alcohol. Not surprisingly, the day with one of the highest sales of alcohol for local stores every year is New Year’s Eve.

Police often set up checkpoints to stop drivers from jeopardizing the safety of others. No matter how hard they try, the authorities cannot catch every inebriated motorist. New Year’s Eve in Virginia routinely sees hundreds of injuries over the three days surrounding New Year’s and often double-digit fatalities over that same period.

Stress and Aggression

Not everyone gets that carefree spirit during the holidays. Even those who do are likely to experience moments of stress. Unfortunately, these pressures can lead to negligent or reckless driving.

Some stressed-out drivers may be more prone to irrational or aggressive driving. Perhaps a driver is moving too slowly for a stressed individual. As such, they might tailgate them at dangerous speeds or try to pass them while in a no-passing zone.

Whatever negligence caused a car accident, injury victims should seek the help of a car accident attorney after an accident to ensure that they get adequate compensation for their losses.

Traffic and the Holidays

Traffic significantly increases in Virginia and around the country during most major holidays, particularly the winter ones. Both local and non-local traffic swell with people traveling to see friends and family. The increase in traffic alone can lead to unmanageable stress.

For many, unfamiliar roadways, landscapes, and terrains may increase crash risks. The same is true of unfamiliar rentals tourists drive.

In many places, extreme cold makes some roads hazardous. Combining hazardous road conditions with any form of negligence, especially drunk driving, is a recipe for disaster.

For drivers not used to driving in adverse weather and on weather-affected roads, there’s a higher risk of an accident occurring when they traverse parts of the country with ice and snow.

Types of Injuries and Accidents on New Year’s and Other Holidays

Because traffic increases during most holidays, the frequency of car accidents does as well. Fender benders, minor car scrapes, and other small incidents abound and add stress to a sometimes already stressful season.

Unfortunately, there's also a stark increase in injury accidents and deaths, most notably those involving alcohol. These tragic occurrences are usually preventable but all too predictable. Drivers who drink or take drugs at a New Year's Eve party and then drive will owe their victims compensation for their injuries.

A car accident attorney can fight for you during the compensation process to get your maximum payout. Without one, you face insurance adjusters and attorneys looking to protect an insurance company's bottom line.

Meanwhile, you must deal with life-changing injuries and their effects on your livelihood, along with a settlement offer that may not even cover your losses.

Car Accident Injuries

Becoming injured is no way to start the new year or celebrate any other special day. Sadly, irresponsible individuals take to the roadways and cause accidents. Car crashes subject passengers to fast and unforgiving forces.

Common types of injuries experienced in accidents include:

• Injuries to the head and brain, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Spinal cord injury leading to paralysis
• Broken and fractured bones
• Internal damage to the organs from blunt-force trauma or puncturing
• Amputations
• Burns and severe abrasions
• Death

Victims often experience multiple injuries and need extensive medical treatment and time off work to heal. In some instances, only so much healing can take place, and the victim is left needing a lifetime of care.

All of these injuries lead to losses that a car accident attorney may be able to recover for you through a claim or lawsuit. If a negligent driver ruined your holiday fun, reach out to a car accident lawyer to have your case evaluated. You deserve to know your options and your case's potential value.

Factors your car accident lawyer uses to determine your potential compensation include:

• The severity of your injuries
• The amount of income you have lost and will lose
• The duration of your injuries and their effect on your life
• The extent of loss of enjoyment of life

Various other factors may play a role in your compensation, depending on your situation. Speaking with a car accident lawyer will help you understand more about the process and your case in general.

Avoiding Accidents on New Year’s Eve and Other Dangerous Times of the Year

Refraining from negligent behavior, such as driving drunk or aggressively, is the first step to staying safe. After that, driving defensively and with a sense of awareness will help. Read up on unfamiliar roads and how the weather might affect your travels and keep a good attitude, and you will help keep your travels safe.

If an accident does happen, contact a car accident attorney as soon as you can following the crash to preserve your right to compensation.

Contact a Car Accident Lawyer to Help You Get Compensated for Your Injuries

Don’t let an insurance company pay you less than your injuries deserve. Get the compensation you deserve with the help of an experienced car accident lawyer.