Tis the Season to Focus on Roadway Safety-Avoid Holiday Crashes

By The Cagle Law Firm | December 17, 2025 | Car Accidents, Personal Injury, Truck Accidents

December: Month with Highest Numbers of MVA’s

End of year holidays are associated with an uptick in car crashes.  December consistently shows significantly higher traffic fatalities than other months or holidays.  New Year’s Eve is one of the most dangerous nights on the roadway. This is true for a number of reasons such as increased traffic, impaired driving, fatigue, distractions, weather conditions and increased truck traffic.  All of those combined make roadway travel extra dangerous and result in some of the highest number serious injury and fatalities through the United States.  The National Safety Council estimated about 131 fatalities for the Christmas period and around 179 fatalities for the New Year’s Day period.  Simply, the end of year if jam packed with various celebrations including work, family, and social organizations.

AAA projects that 122.4 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the 13-day-end holiday period beginning December 20 and ending January 1, 2026.  According to NHTSA, there were 320 fatal traffic crashes and an estimated 22,293 injury crashes that occurred in snow/sleet.

Travelers peaked in 2019 and as expected and dropped sharply in 2020. However, normal travel rates returned by 2024.  Traveling by car projections are about 109.5 million people for 2025.  With a record number of car travelers, drivers are encouraged to exercise a lot of good judgement and safety precautions.

• St Louis made the 10 most dangerous cities for holiday driving from 2018-2022.  To make matter worse, the top three cities, Memphis, Detroit and St. Louis has a median household income substantially below the national median. This dynamic may leave drivers with fewer funds to be sure their vehicles are insured and roadworthy/good repair. As well, it increases stress that could lead to fatigue and distracted driving.

Key Dangers:

Increased traffic–any time you have more vehicles on the roadway, traffic can become congested. Simply, more vehicles mean more chances of collisions.

Impaired Driving:  The holidays are a time for merriment and celebration. Nationwide, the alcohol-impaired fatalities in 2022 represented 32% of the total traffic fatalities. Historic trends continue to reveal that New Year’s Eve holiday period fatalities involved 37% of alcohol impaired fatalities.  Simply, we know that no one should climb behind the wheel after they have been drinking alcohol.  The public safety messages have been going out for 40 plus years.  We know that impaired driving is the definition of negligence.  Completely preventable serious injuries or deaths are the definition of tragic, because they are 100% preventable.

Fatigue: The holidays are a fun but hectic time.  Often, people are even more over-extended than normal trying to complete their tasks at work, shopping and attending holiday get togethers. Sleep can be the are of your life that sees a  deficit.  If you are going to be driving, make sure that you start out rested.  Fatigued driving can be as dangerous as impaired driving due to slow reaction time and lack of alertness.  Crashes can happen in a second. Failure to be alert can cost you and others a great deal.

Weather:  It is winter in the Midwest, so we are never sure what kind of weather we will have from now until New Year’s Eve.  Generally, we can count on it being COLD.  If there is precipitation such as snow or sleet, again, use common sense and take precautions.  Follow weather newscasts and stay up-to-date on weather changes.  In the last few years we do know that if we get a lot of snow in St. Louis–you already know that traffic often grinds to a stop.  Follow road conditions and weigh whether it is wise to travel. According to NHTSA, there were 320 fatal traffic crashes and an estimated 22,293 injury crashes that occurred in snow/sleet weather.  There were a total of 40,901 people fatally injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2023.  As the greater metro area has already had one snow event that caused havoc right before Thanksgiving, we have to be prepared for future rough weather

Increased Truck Traffic:  We like to think that most everyone has the holidays off from work.  While that may be true for so many of us, there are so many over-the-road truckers who continue to work through the holiday period bringing goods and supplies to us.  Most of us order boat loads of things online and have them shipped to our homes–those supplies have to get around the country and the number of large trucks on the roadway over the holidays is immense.  Likewise, truck drivers are dealing with increased traffic, weather and impaired drivers.  While truck drivers are professional drivers and held to a little higher standard, each of us has to be on the look out for them.  Of course, we all know that it is unwise to drive dangerous around large trucks simply due to their size and the amount of damage they can do in a crash.  Truck crashes often result in serious injuries if not fatalities.

Safety Tips for Holiday Travel:

PLAN AHEAD.  Allow extra time for travel as it will probably be slower and more congested. Know the route you are going to take and allow a little extra time. Also, plan for how you are getting back home after the celebration.

DRIVE SOBER–never drive after you have been consuming alcohol.  NEVER DRIVE IMPAIRED.  If you are traveling by vehicle, plan to carpool or designate a sober driver.  Rideshare reservations are always a great idea. It is not that you might have a fender bender and a little inconvenience, but you may cause a crash that results in death or serious injury

MINIMIZE DISTRACTIONS– Focus on the road.  Refraining from texting can be challenging, but every safety group recommends that you silent the texts. Friends and family that care about you will understand if you cannot take calls or text with them while you are driving. For heaven’s sake, they want to see you at the festivities–not visit you at the hospital or worse.

DRIVE DEFENSIVELY– be aware of the increase in traffic and possible impaired drivers. Impaired driving rates spike during the holidays.  Keep an eye out for drivers speeding, weaving and changing lanes without notice.

• Situational Awareness: constantly scan your surroundings for pedestrians, potential hazards including blind spots
• Intersection Safety: Intersection crashes account for about 25% of traffic fatalities annually.  Be cautious
• Safe Following Distance- Use the three-second rule to maintain a safe gat with the vehicle ahead
• Defensive Maneuvers: Train to act quickly and correctly to emergencies such as skid recovery and obstacle avoidance.

SLOW DOWN:  Data shows that that high speed driving was 68% higher on Christmas Day compared to overall annual average. Christmas Day sees both longer trip distances and more instances of high-speed driving. Considering others are driving further and faster, changes in routines and drivers increase the chances of collisions. Simply reducing your speed can provide more reaction time and give you a second to avoid some scenarios.

CHECK YOUR VEHICLE– make sure your vehicle has been inspected and tires, brakes, lights and wipers are checked to ensure performance. Avoid letting your gas tank run low.  Increased traffic and holiday closures may make it difficult to refuel. Plan your route using Siri, Google Maps etc so that you can find the safest routes and get real-time updates about traffic

Buckle Up:  Wearing a seat belt increases your odds of surviving by almost 50%. That rate is even higher if you are in a bigger vehicle. Wearing a seat belt is the most effective thing you can do to promote your own safety should you be in a crash.

Holidays: Meant for Fun with Family and Friends

The holidays are meant to be fun for everyone to enjoy family and friends. Nothing ruins the holidays like a motor vehicle collision. The holidays can present unique challenges amplified by heavy traffic and weather conditions.  Plan and prepare; slow down and stay focused so that you and your family and friends all enjoy the holiday season.

Motor Vehicle Incidents and Having a Plan:

Since you’re planning, you should know what you would do if you are in  a motor vehicle collision. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the average person is in 3-4 accidents in their lifetime. Yet, many people never have a plan for when a collision occurs, even a minor fender bender.  There are few things you should do if you are physically able to do so after a crash:

Call 911– call the police immediately. One, someone may be hurt. Two, you need the incident report made for your sake and the other driver. Three, law enforcement arrive and take action to make the crash scene safe. Any driver that encourages you to NOT call law enforcement possibly have an issue either with lack of insurance, valid license, etc.

Seek Medical Help:  If you have pain, seek immediate medical help. Do not call the insurance carrier and ask for permission–get medical help.  If you wait for an insurance carrier to bless going to the doctor, you will be waiting weeks if not months. Take care of yourself and get medical help. Vehicles can be repaired or replaced–people need immediate help.

Call a Skilled Lawyer: Car Accident attorneys offer free consultations.  We answer the phone 7 days a week.  We advise you on what to do in the first hours and days after a crash and assist you in avoiding common mistakes.  We offer a free iPhone app  Injury Attorney and encourage you to download it.  It answers your questions, assists you in gathering information and provides resources such rideshare.  After a crash, each one of us is really stressed and often find it hard to think very clearly.  Our app gives you a task list and often, clients tell us that knowing the steps helped them remain more calm.

Call us toll free 1.800.685.3302 or locally 314.276.1681

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