Arizona Holiday Car Accidents

Your Arizona Accident Attorneys take a look at car accidents and how they are impacted during this busy Holiday season.

If you are involved in an accident, contact our Mesa Injury Lawyers for assistance, our experienced personal injury law firm will help you maximize your accident settlement.

It’s no secret that car accident rates tend to increase on holidays. We are right in the midst of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, which are three holidays that rank among the highest in motor vehicle accidents. Especially during a pandemic, the holidays are stressful enough without dealing with insurance companies, doctor’s appointments, and mechanics. If you are the victim of a car accident in Arizona during the holidays, you should consider consulting with a personal injury attorney in Mesa to ease some of the post-accident hassle.

Arizona Holiday Crash Statistics

In Arizona in 2019, an average of 2.69 people were killed in car accidents per day. Last year, the most dangerous holidays from a driver’s perspective were July 4th, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. These holiday crashes are more likely to involve alcohol than other holidays.

Thanksgiving weekend is measured as Wednesday at 6PM to the following Monday at 6AM for traffic purposes in Arizona. In 2019, there were 11 fatal crashes during Thanksgiving weekend in Arizona, 3 of which involved alcohol. This averages to about 3.6 traffic accident deaths per day, which is noticeably higher than the typical average of 2.69.

The Christmas holiday is measured for traffic purposes as Christmas eve at 6PM to the morning after Christmas at 6AM. In 2019, there were only 2 fatal accidents over the Christmas holiday in Arizona. None of these crashes involved alcohol. This is actually lower than the everyday average.

New Year’s Day is measured as December 28th at 6PM until January 2nd at 6AM. In 2019, there were 9 people killed in 8 accidents in Arizona during the New Year’s holiday. One of these crashes was alcohol-related.

Why are holidays more dangerous?

A few of these Holiday driving factors include:

• Distraction

Maybe someone is trying to prevent a crock pot from tipping over, or breaking up a fight between the kids in the backseat over a new present. There are plenty of extra stimuli to distract drivers during the holidays, which can lead to increased car accidents. 

• Stress

The holidays elicit happy memories in many, but for so many others, the holidays mostly mean extra stress. Your kids might want gifts you can’t afford, and your holiday dinners might mean a guaranteed family feud. This year, you may have the added stress of differing views about the pandemic, and guilt for not attending family gatherings. Some people may be more inclined to speed and drive recklessly after a family fight. 

• Weather

Arizona has relatively mild winters, so accidents don’t shoot up in colder months like they do in other states. However, there are more rainy days and it gets dark earlier around the holidays here, which can increase the likelihood of car accidents. 

• Road Congestion

 In a typical year, the roads are full of drivers traveling in and out of the state to be with family members. The more people that are on the road, the more likely it is that there will be car accidents. This also means that more people are driving who are unfamiliar with the area, and may be driving slowly, braking suddenly, etc. 

• Vehicle Neglect

 Additional expenses during the holidays may mean cutting corners on other expenses, but this can have far more expensive results. Purchasing gifts and decorations in lieu of new brakes is an unfortunate decision that some people make during the holidays, and this can lead to accidents due to defective and poorly maintained vehicles. 

• Alcohol

 What are the holidays without some eggnog or good wine? Alcohol can be a major part of many families’ holiday celebrations. However, this effect is more visible during the holidays during warmer months that don’t typically involve traveling to be with family. Arizona is notoriously strict with DUI arrests, so holiday drivers should be sure to be sober before getting back on the road. 

What Should I Do After a Holiday Car Accident?

After any type of accident, your first priority should be making sure that you are safe and checking whether you need immediate medical attention. If possible, pull over to the side or off the road. If your injuries aren’t too severe and you don’t need to go to hospital, you can continue assessing the scene of the accident. Take pictures of the damage, and videos if it will help you more accurately portray the scene. If there were any witnesses to the accident, get their contact information. Get the name and insurance information of all other drivers involved in the accident.

Someone else may call so you won’t have any say in if they show up, but it may be a good idea to call the police after you’ve been in a car accident. This will be crucial if the other driver doesn’t have insurance, and while unlikely, the police may assign one driver as at fault in the police report. This can be a vital piece of evidence to support your case.

You will need to inform both the other driver’s and your own insurance company of the accident. Unless one driver was clearly at fault for the accident, each driver will be liable for more of the other driver’s damages if they are assigned more fault. This is where having your own  Mesa personal injury attorney will come in handy. Your attorney can also prevent you from making statements to the insurance companies that can decrease the value of your claim.

If you are the victim of a holiday car accident, you’d probably rather spend your holidays with your family, whether in person or virtually. That’s why you should hire an Arizona personal injury attorney to handle your claim on your behalf. Our dedicated staff and attorneys offer phone consultations throughout the holiday season to assist with your needs after an auto accident. Don’t speak to insurance adjusters on a recorded line until you’ve had a chance to speak with one of our attorneys for your free consultation.

Let Our Mesa Personal Injury Attorneys Maximize Your Settlement

Furthermore, our Mesa Injury attorneys work on a guaranteed contingency fee of 25%- that means we don’t get paid unless we win, and we charge 8% or more less than our competitors!  Less attorneys fees automatically means more settlement for you. After all, you were the one injured, you should be the one who benefits the most from it, not your attorney. Give us a call today, (602) 600-6001.