CARS.COM — When it comes to Independence Day travel, the highways this holiday weekend will be poppin' off like a gross of bottle rockets on a short fuse. Travel-services giant AAA estimates that more than 36 million people will take to the roads this year for a weekend car trip, a 1.2 percent increase over last year and the highest overall travel volume on record.
Related: Study Links 20 Years of Speed Limit Increases to 33,000 Traffic Deaths
"Independence Day is always the most-traveled holiday of the summer, but this year it will be bigger than ever, primarily because of low gas prices," said AAA President and CEO Joseph J. Richardson Jr.
Gas prices recently resumed their downward trend following weeks of increases that interrupted a sustained period of declining prices. Even during that period in which prices crept back up, however, U.S. drivers were still enjoying some of the lowest per-gallon fuel costs since 2005.
With more travelers, of course, come more problems. AAA said it expects to provide roadside assistance to more than 370,000 stranded motorists from today through Monday. The most common problems, as usual, will be dead batteries, lockouts and flat tires. AAA urges travelers embarking on their journey to check the condition of their battery and tires, and have their vehicle inspected by a trusted repair shop to avoid trouble out on the road.
But the worst problems won't be picking up a nail in your tire or running out of gas. The National Safety Council projects that as many as 466 will be killed and nearly 54,000 more seriously injured during the holiday weekend — the highest number the NSC has predicted in eight years. This news comes as highway fatalities have been trending up, attributed largely to an improved economy and low gas prices getting drivers back out on the roads. An 8 percent increase in highway deaths from 2014 to 2015 was the largest year-over-year percentage spike in a half-century, NSC stated.
"The council issues these estimates not to scare drivers but to empower them to make safe decisions behind the wheel," said Deborah A.P. Hersman, NSC president and CEO. "We hope Americans will spend their holiday safely watching fireworks and celebrating with family rather than sitting in an emergency room."
To that end, NSC recommends the following safety tips:
- Make sure every passenger buckles up on every trip; this could save an estimated 181 lives just over the holiday, according to the NSC.
- Designate an alcohol- and drug-free driver or arrange alternate transportation if you'll be imbibing for the holiday, as 37 percent of Fourth of July crashes since 2010 have involved alcohol.
- Get adequate sleep and take regular breaks on long trips to avoid fatigue.
- Never use a mobile phone while behind the wheel, even hands-free.
- Learn about your vehicle's advanced safety features and how to use them. Remember: A safety system isn't as useful if you don't understand it.
from Cars.com News http://ift.tt/29i1dhF
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