Historically speaking, Thanksgiving is the busiest travel weekend in the United States. According to AAA, in 2021 an estimated 53.4 million people were predicted to be traveling for the holiday. This was a shocking increase of roughly 13% from 2020. This can be attributed to the opening of the country following the pandemic. With the country being even more open this year, the number of traveling Americans will likely increase this Thanksgiving.
This doesn’t just mean higher priced airline tickets and crazy hustle and bustle at airports, you should also expect a flood of cars spilling onto the highways, filled with hungry little turkeys fiending for pumpkin pie. So, if you plan on making it to your destination in time for the 12:30 PM kickoff of the NFL Thanksgiving triple header, make sure you get a head start to beat the crowds.
Unfortunately, excessive travel time isn’t the only thing you need to watch out for this Thanksgiving. With such a large influx of traffic, your risk of being involved in an automobile accident increases significantly. With that in mind, be sure to keep your eyes on the road and your surroundings, and drive with extra caution to keep yourself and your family safe.
If you do find yourself involved in an accident, minor or serious, there are a few steps you should immediately take:
- Assess any injuries to passengers. If anyone is seriously injured or appears to be, call 911 immediately and seek the assistance of first responders.
- Once you have taken care of any injured passengers, look at the damage to your automobile. Make sure to take photos and detailed notes about the extent of the damage. It is very important to thoroughly document the damage to your vehicle.
- Ask eyewitnesses to make a statement. You can either take their statements and contact information, or wait for law enforcement to arrive. In either case, witness statements can be helpful if evidence of the incident ever needs presented.
- File a claim with your insurance company. You are going to want to do this as soon as possible and be ready to provide all the evidence you have collected along the way. There is a two (2) year statute of limitations related to personal injury cases, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait that long. The closer to the incident, the better.
- Call an attorney! The auto accident attorneys at Long & Long, LLC have extensive experience litigating personal injury cases related to car accidents. They are dedicated to getting victims of these incidents the results they deserve.
Call 724.834.9300 or fill out this form to schedule a free case evaluation.