For this year’s Thanksgiving, reports say that an estimated number of more than 33 million motorists are expected to start their engines and hit the road. According to projections made by major insurance providers, the number represents a 2.1% increase compared to last year’s driver statistics. According to the Insurance Information Institute, more motorists driving during thanksgiving can mean more chances for collisions and road accidents to take place. For 2009, Thanksgiving Day still represent one of the busiest day for the year for drivers and insurance providers.
To help consumers understand the hazards of Thanksgiving driving, local groups expect to use the number of reported accidents to make drivers aware of the dangers of not driving safely during one of the most celebrated weekends of the years. The Insurance Information Institute aims to initiate a campaign that promotes awareness for Thanksgiving safety driving. According to the organization, the important issues that drivers need to focus on while driving for Thanksgiving include controlled drinking at parties, paying more focus on the road, and when deciding to rent a car instead of driving their own, understanding the concept of rental car insurance. Insurance experts coincide with the organization’s belief that if the three factors were to be controlled, the number of car collisions and road accidents during Thanksgiving can be decreased dramatically.
According to Insurance Information Institute consumer spokesperson and senior vice president Jeanne Salvatore, controlling alcohol intake and maintaining focus on the road while driving maybe the easier things to do in the three mentioned factors, but deciding to buy or not to buy rental car insurance requires thorough thinking and should not be an impulsive decision. Insurance providers are starting to team up with Salvatore on how they can further spread the concept on safe and responsible Thanksgiving driving. According to reports, the groups are now compiling news reports about car accidents over the weekend to paint a terrifying future that can await those who do not high regard for road safety during Thanksgiving.
A study conducted by Insurance Research Center reveals that the Thanksgiving weekend represents one of the most unsafe weekends of the year for drivers and car owners in the United States. Factors including extra traffic on the public roads, alcohol intake from parties, and icy roads make driving more hazardous as compared to other weekends of the year. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, for this year’s Thanksgiving, there were an estimated number of more than 1,000 injured individuals involved in national highway accidents.
