If you think bad weather is the worst thing on the road this holiday season, take a closer look at other drivers.
Speeding, red light driving, drowsy driving, and driving with alcohol and marijuana have all spiked during the coronavirus pandemic, officials warn.
And auto club AAA says these problems are getting worse this Christmas season.
The AAA expects to rescue 900,000 stranded motorists as 102 million Americans will drive at least 50 miles from their homes on their holiday trips from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2. increase.
“The peak of the pandemic is in the rearview mirror, but not the disruptive driving behavior that began to be seen at the start of the pandemic,” said Ragina, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman for Maryland and the District of Columbia. C. Ali told The Washington Times.
“We still see exorbitant speeds and the frequency of disabled and distracted drivers taking the lives of drivers on the road.”
The AAA Road Safety Foundation reported this month that the percentage of drivers who admitted to getting behind the wheel after drinking over the legal limit increased by 24% from 2020 to 2021.
This has reversed a steady decline in the foundation's annual surveys from 2018 to 2020, AAA said.
Joe Young, spokesman for the Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said many drivers were ignoring speed limits and seatbelts because of the slow police crackdown during the coronavirus pandemic. said he was used to it.
The roads have become more dangerous this year due to an increase in disabled drivers consuming marijuana along with alcohol and the return of more risk-averse drivers to the roads, he added in an email.
“Empty roads in the early days of the pandemic saw a gradual increase in speed,” Young said. I was there,” he said. "Lighter traffic and clearer roads have certainly played a role, but thinly distributed law enforcement personnel have reduced speed limits and other traffic law enforcement in many places. Did."
According to the latest government figures, traffic fatalities have steadily increased since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 42,915 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes last year, up 10.5% from 38,824 in 2020.
This includes 968 fatalities in 2021, Virginia's highest in 14 years, up 14% from 2020. Virginia's numbers are expected to increase again this year.
Contrary to national trends, Maryland saw a slight decline in road traffic casualties, from 573 in 2020 to 563 last year.
In 2021, 40 people died in car accidents in the district. This is his 8% increase since 2020, the most since 2007 when he had 54 deaths.
The best way to avoid being a statistic this holiday season is to practice defensive driving, said Alaina Gertz, spokeswoman for the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department.
That means stopping for pedestrians at crosswalks, keeping a safe distance behind other vehicles, adapting to bad weather and traffic conditions, and obeying posted speed limits, she said. said in an e-mail.
"As speed increases, traffic accidents become more serious," Gertz said. “Furthermore, the MPD has seen individuals risk their lives and the lives of those around them by getting behind the wheel with a disability. We don't know, but MPD will continue to enforce all traffic laws during the pandemic and beyond."