Pennsylvania police respond to hundreds of holiday car accidents

Traveling on the road anytime during the winter can be a challenge. Of course, the overwhelming concern is that inclement weather and slippery roads create dangerous road conditions. At the same time, large volumes of holiday-related traffic could also open the door to higher accident rates.

Statistics recently released by the Pennsylvania State Police seem to reflect some of these concerns about winter driving. State officers responded to 900 car accidents during the recent Christmas holiday. Of those crashes, 255 instances of injuries resulted. The accident statistics were gathered between Dec. 24 and 26, and reflect only the accidents that were handled by state police.

Police went further to indicate that alcohol was involved in 41 of the collisions. Two accident fatalities occurred in the drunk driving accidents. The effects of holiday traffic and celebration are present in these numbers.

Interestingly enough, during the four days surrounding Christmas in 2012, a total of 1,336 accidents were investigated by state authorities. Based on a per-day average, there were slightly fewer accidents during the 2013 holiday.

Although many people want to do whatever is necessary to make it home for the holidays, it’s important that driving must be done in accordance with the conditions on the road. Driving too fast or following other vehicles too closely can fuel accidents when the roads are slick. Knowing this, drivers have a responsibility to drive cautiously. Failure to act on this duty and make adjustments for the weather could be considered negligence on the part of the driver.

Source: GantDaily.com, “Holiday Accident Statistics Released by Pennsylvania State Police,” Dec. 30, 2013