Don’t let dangerous driving ruin holidays

The holiday season can be the most dangerous time of the year for drivers and pedestrians. Given that speeding is a factor in roughly 30 percent of all traffic fatalities, there are plenty of reasons to slow down this holiday season. And as the season kicks off, here are four major points to keep in mind, courtesy of Autobytel’s “Take the Pledge to Slow Down” safe-driving campaign:

1. Because Death Definitely Doesn’t Take a Holiday: Over the past decade roughly 13,500 traffic fatalities occurred during the major fallwinter holiday periods. Nearly 5,000 (or about 37 percent) of those deaths were speeding-related. An upward trend in speeding-related deaths actually starts after October, culminating on New Year’s Day, which is the deadliest day for speeding-related fatalities of any date on the calendar.

Many of the fatalities aren’t drivers or passengers. In fact pedestrians account for nearly 13 percent of all crash deaths. New Year’s Day and Halloween have the highest average pedestrian death rates, with each averaging 24 pedestrian deaths. And all of the other days with at least 20 pedestrian deaths fall between October and December, a particularly dangerous month for speeding because so many kids are out of school and playing near neighborhood streets.

2. Because it’s a Busy, Busy Time on the Old Highways: It’s estimated that more than 50 million people will drive 50+ miles during the Christmas season to visit friends and family. By speeding, you’ll only be adding to the congestion, chaos and stress on the

roads while risking your own and others’ chances of making it to your holiday destinations safely.

3. Because Too Many Drivers Have Had Too Much “Holiday Cheer”: From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day in 2003 there were 4,147 traffic fatalities on American roads and 38 percent of them were alcohol-related. On New Year’s Eve, there were 219 traffic deaths and more than 61 percent were alcohol-related, and on Super Bowl Sunday there were 113 traffic deaths and nearly 55 percent were alcohol-related. The bottom line: Drunk drivers are out in force (and wreaking havoc) during the holidays, impaired by poor judgment and slow reaction times. If you’re speeding, you’re just adding another shot of danger to what’s already a deadly cocktail of driving hazards.

4. Because You Don’t Want a “Special Holiday Gift” From a Traffic Cop: As the year comes to a close, police departments generally step up highway patrols to nab drunk drivers. While they’re at it, rest assured they’ll also be flashing their radar guns. The average cost of a speeding ticket, including court fees, runs about $150.

And in some states driving 5 to 10 miles over the speed limit results in a ticket costing nearly $200, while driving 15 to 20 miles over the limit will cost upwards of $275. The average insurance increase over three years from a speeding ticket, meanwhile,

runs roughly $300, meaning

that a single speeding ticket can end up setting you back $450 to $575. So before you speed, consider whether you can afford it on top of all the other costs associated with the holidays.

So there you have it: four good reasons to slow down this holiday season. But don’t forget the best reason of all: it’s the holidays. And that means it’s time to relax and enjoy your family and friends, to spread goodwill and cheer, not run around creating stress and anger while endangering yourself and others.