Safe Driving Tips for Cardinal’s Home Opening Day ’26 Celebration!

By The Cagle Law Firm | March 25, 2026 | Car Accidents, Drunk Driving, Featured, Inattentiveness, Personal Injury

Opening day at Busch Stadium is an unofficial St. Louis holiday!    If you are headed to the Cardinal’s Opening Day celebration, do a bit of planning to avoid being in a car acciudent.  Of course, we are referring to transportation. Car accidents are a huge buzz-kill at any time, but especially while celebrating Opening Day.  Summer weather predictions set the stage for a great Opening Day.  Whether meeting friends at the game or elsewhere, just take a few minutes to focus on HOW YOU WILL GET HOME FROM THE GAME-SAFELY.

Download our Iphone/Android App Injury Attorney. The app has a checklist of steps to take after a crash including important information to gather, access to tow trucks and Rideshare apps. When the adreneline kicks in after a crash, having a list of “things to do” often provides focus and some calm after a collision.

Most attending Opening Day are planning on making a full day of celebration, so whether you are pre-gaming at Ballpark Village or other area eateries, make a plan.  Everyone plans on how they are going to get to the game and where they want to celebrate. Probably the kindest thing you can do for yourself and your fellow revelers is to be sure you have a sober way home.  Many Cardinal fans will flood downtown. It is always a time of year that excites everyone. As a downtown business, we look forward to seeing Cardinal fans making downtown bustle.

The game begins at 3:00 p.m. Per usual, most get there early and “pre game”.  It is a glorious good time.

Roadway Safety

The biggest safety concern about attending the Home Opener is the traffic. While traffic can be frustrating, the odds that there will be impaired drivers increases greatly into the evening hours.  Simply plan ahead.  Whether you are staying for drinks and food in Ballpark Village or scattering to other great parts of the city, be sure you have a sober driver.

Sober Driver:  Before Rideshare, a group of friends would have to draw straws to see who would be the “designated driver”. It is still a splendid idea if Rideshare is not an option.  The designated driver needs to be the person who has NOT CONSUMED ANY ALCOHOL and not just the “least drunk”.  No doubt, law enforcement will be out and issues citations or arresting impaired drivers. Again, getting a DUI is a buzz kill for anyone. The legal costs of hiring an attorney to help deal with your DUI can be extremely expensive and result in a suspended license, high citation fees and of course, insurance coverage spikes.  Really, no fun.

However, worse than a DUI citation is the probability of being involved in a motor vehicle collision while impaired.  Motor vehicle collisions can happen when driver’s fail to pay close attention, become inpatient or fail to follow the rules of the road. There will be a lot of traffic in downtown St. Louis all day and evening. Generally, we see some really inpatient driving behaviors. When a driver is impaired, it can become deadly for them, their passengers and other motorists.  A car accident while impaired can be a negative life-changing event in the lives of those involved.  Avoid that!

Metro Stations:  There are numerous MetroLink Stations that unload and numerous locations downtown. Many chose to park outside of Downtown and ride the Metro into Downtown. It saves on parking and a lot of the heavy traffic.  Of course, if you have other friends picking you up after the celebration, they usually would prefer to pick you up at one of the many stops outside of Downtown.  Obviously, the Stadium station drops you right at Busch Stadium, but there are numerous stops Downtown.  Likewise, those coming into Downtown from the East can catch a ride from as far out as Fairview Heights and Belleville.  More importantly, going back home, the Metro train goes West to Central West End and out to Brentwood and forks in the Central West End so you can opt to go as far north as the St. Louis Lambert Airport!  Literally, you can be out of the game and half way across town to great food locations all through Midtown, and Central West End.  If you haven’t ridden the MetroLink in a while, you might have forgotten how conveinent it is to avoid crammed, expensive parking and impaired driving.

RideShare:  In a city where taxi cabs were plentiful, there are far more Ridshare options today.  Whether you use Lyft or Uber, those drivers will be out and probably plentiful for Opening Day.  You may need to plan ahead to schedule your ride or plan to walk a few blocks out of the heaviest traffic, but Rideshare options really prevent drunk driving.

What If I’m in a Car Accident on Opening Day

If you have the misfortune of being involved in a car accident tomorrow afternoon or evening, it can be tempting to try to not be thorough simply because it is inconvienent.  For instance, becasue Downtwon traffic will be hectic, another driver may try to convince you not to involve the police after a crash. Resist this temptation.

• Call 911 and request that the police come to your crash site. Failure to call the police and get a crash report can cause you real problems when you go to make a property damage claim or an injury claim.  If you fail to call the police, you are taking a huge gamble that the other driver may deny the collision ever happened and they will definintely be tempted to tell a version of the story where they are either not at fault or mutual fault.  Yes, calling the police is a hassle, but failure to get crash documented by law enforcment can create weeks or months of hassle.
• Give just the facts at the scene of the crash.  When you are involved in a crash, you are tempted to apologize to other motorists simply because it happened even if it was not your fault.
• Seek medical help. If you are hurt, get to the ER.  If an ambulance is offered, we can tell you that few people regret taking the ambulance.
• Call a car accident lawyer BEFORE you start calling insurance companies. If you are hurt, you absolutely should talk to an expert attorney BEFORE you discuss ANY of your injuries, part of the body injured, where you went for medical help, your date of birth, etc.  SIMPLY–if you feel you MUST call your insurance company, just notify them that it occurred and that you are “still treating” and “not in any condition to give statements”.  Honestly, after a collision, you are frazzled and should take a pause before giving information to an insruance adjuster.  You calling them in the hours following your crash will not mean they take immediate action that evening–they will not.
• The Adjuster is Not on Your Side.  This is a hard truth and often, people are really disappointed to discover their own insruance adjuster is not actually looking out for their best interest.   Auto insruance is the only thing that you are required by law to buy, but alway hestiate to use.  Again, you want a plan before you engage in a conversation wtih an adjuster.

Even if you end up not needing an attorney, we are happy to talk to you about how to go about talking to the insurance adjuster for the first time. If you are hurt, you should not deal with the insruance adjuster without forethought and advice.  Our attorneys gladly provide that inforamtion free of charge.

Call us toll free 1.800.685.3302 or locally 314.276.1681

Be safe on Opening Day and Enjoy the beginning of Cardinal’s Baseball!!

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