Make weekend one of holiday joy, not tragedy
Today is the unofficial start of the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. For millions of Americans it will be a time for families and friends to gather in love and fellowship and the breaking of bread -- and of course, in the giving of thanks.
Inevitably, for others it will be a time of tragedy.
Barring circumstances beyond one's control (sadly, such circumstances sometimes confront us), being numbered among the latter is for the most part avoidable. This Thanksgiving in particular, it calls for sensible planning, alertness and common sense.
The American Automobile Association predicts that almost 47 million Americans will be traveling at least 50 miles from home and back between 6 p.m. today and midnight Sunday. Of those, almost 90 percent will be traveling by automobile. This year is expected to see the heaviest Thanksgiving traffic in eight years, thanks in large part to lower fuel costs.
That will mean slowdowns and, in some cases and places, complete gridlock. It will mean stress and frustration and tests of drivers' (and passengers') patience. Because of all those things -- and because high-traffic periods mean there will be more, not fewer, inept drivers on the roads -- it will also mean defensive driving is at a premium.
Last year's Wednesday-Sunday Thanksgiving weekend in Georgia saw 676 highway accidents involving 288 injuries and at least 15 deaths. (Georgia State Troopers also issued a reported 264 DUI citations; how many were connected to those 676 accidents we don't know, but it's a statistical certainty there was significant overlap between those two figures.)
The Georgia Department of Public Safety predicts that all those numbers will be higher this year, including as many as 19 fatalities. One of the best things Georgia drivers could do over the next five days is fall way short on every one of those statistics.
Speaking of statistics, although it might turn the long Thanksgiving holiday into a shorter one, the best travel day in terms of traffic volume -- provided distance permits it -- is Thanksgiving Day itself. The worst times, as one might guess, are today and Sunday. But because the average round-trip Thanksgiving drive is 600 miles, for most Americans the day trip isn't an option.
DriveSmartGeorgia.com offers some Thanksgiving driving safety tips that are mostly just common sense -- but reminders never hurt.
Give yourself plenty of time. Hurrying in heavy traffic might not be possible, and even if it is, it's dangerous. Be rested, maintain a safe braking distance (even if the nimrod behind you doesn't), and take occasional refresher breaks. Limit distractions, such as cell phone use -- texting at the wheel can be a mortal (literally, in this context) sin -- or other uses of hands and eyes that need to be, respectively, on the wheel and the road. Make sure the car is in safe driving condition.
Even more important, make sure you are.
This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Make weekend one of holiday joy, not tragedy."