Will More People on The Road Mean More Accidents?

Not surprisingly, this time of year is a popular time to travel, which means the roads in and around Altoona, Pennsylvania, are going to be particularly crowded.

In fact, one group, the American Automobile Association, commonly known as AAA, is estimating that this year will be a record year for holiday travel, at least since 2001, when the AAA began keeping track of this statistic.

The AAA is estimating an over four percent increase in the number of Americans driving or riding in cars to their holiday destinations this year over the number who did the same last year. Overall, they are expecting 102.1 million people on the road, which is close to one-third of all Americans. For this year, given where Christmas and New Year’s fall, the AAA is defining the holiday travel season as December 22 through January 1, 2019.

The AAA suggested that there will be more traffic jams as a result of extra motorists on the road, with some localities experiencing travel times four times longer than normal. An affiliate of the AAA also points out that just about half of all weather-related crashes happen in winter driving conditions. Motorists will need to account for increased traffic and, at least in some areas, wintry weather in their driving habits.

More cars on the road could well mean delays are inevitable, but it does not have to mean that there will be more car accidents. Whether this holiday season will be bright and cheery or troublesome or even tragic will depend heavily on how seriously motorists take their obligation to drive safely. If they fail in this obligation, they may be held legally accountable.