Now that the summer is fast approaching and school is letting out, we’ll have more opportunities to get injured in various types of roadway accidents. That’s right, the beautiful weather means more children will be walking around during the day, more children will be riding their bicycles, and more inexperienced drivers (think teens and young adults) will be hitting the roads instead of being in school.
If you’re a parent of school-age children who will be home for the summer, it’s important to educate them about the dangers of bicycle and pedestrian accidents. Your children may be crossing through a crosswalk, but a distracted teen driver (or even an adult), may be so busy texting on their cellphone that he or she doesn’t see your child crossing the street.
Why is the Summer a Dangerous Time?
During the summer, the weather is warmer and the days are longer. So naturally, more people are going to be jogging, walking, riding bicycles and motorcycles, and taking road trips. Here are some of the main reasons why the summer is a particularly dangerous time accident-wise:
- Children and teens are out of school.
- More people are taking road trips.
- More children walking around during the day.
- More children riding their bicycles day and night.
- More time on their hands means more teenage drinking and driving than during the school year.
- More inexperienced drivers (ages 15 to 25) on the road day and night.
- With teens out of school, more distracted drivers on the roads.
On June 01, 2016, the Huffington Post published an article entitled, The Dangers of Summer Driving. In the article, the author, Theresa MacPhail stated, “July and August are two of the deadliest months, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), with more car crashes and vehicular-related deaths and injuries than any other months.” We have to agree with MacPhail, our firm has definitely noticed more traffic-related injury claims during the summer months.
If you are a parent, we urge you to educate your children about the extra dangers during the summer. If your children will be walking and bicycling while you work or take care of the house, please tell them to ride and walk “defensively” because you never know when a distracted or drunk driver is sharing the road with your child.
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