During summer holidays, the roads throughout Boston grow increasingly dangerous.
USA Today listed the most dangerous holidays of the year when the risks of motor vehicle collisions are at their highest. All of the big summer holidays, including Memorial Day, Labor Day and Independence Day are on the list along with Christmas, New Year’s and Thanksgiving.
If you decide to throw a big holiday party to celebrate the season, or if you attend a summer festive event, it is important you are aware of the increased auto accident risks. There are a few key things you can do to prevent collisions so you or your guests do not become responsible for causing a crash and so you can reduce the chances of being hurt in a collision someone else has caused.
If an accident does happen, contact Boston car accident attorneys to find out options for pursuing legal action.
Avoiding Car Accidents After Summer Holiday Parties
Both party hosts and guest have a role to play in avoiding auto accidents after big parties for Memorial Day, Forth of July and Labor Day. Some of the key things those throwing parties can do in order to try to prevent collision from occurring include:
- Being cautious about serving alcohol: If you provide alcohol at your summer party and you give drinks to someone who is under 21 years of age, you could become civilly liable if that young adult causes a car accident on the way home. Under Massachusetts’ social host law, you could also go to jail for up to a year and face a maximum of $2,000 in criminal fines. Don’t allow anyone under 21 to drink at all. If you serve alcohol to adults, make sure each person who is drinking has a designated driver or stops after one drink. Provide non-alcoholic beverages for designated drivers, and consider discontinuing all servings of alcohol an hour or more before the end of the party. If someone is going to leave drink, don’t let them do so.
- Provide guests clear directions: When drivers are looking at a map or at their phone, they are more likely to get into distracted driving collisions than if they were paying careful attention to the road. If you have people coming to your home that don’t know how to get there, give them an address that works with their GPS or clear directions they can follow to get to your home via the easiest route.
- Watch how long the party lasts: Drowsy driving is a leading cause of accidents. If your guests come to party for many hours in the hot sun, this could zap their energy and leave them feeling fatigued for the ride home. If you want to have a big all day party with lots of activities like swimming or shooting off fireworks late into the night, think about inviting guests to stay over.
Party goers also need to do their part to prevent accidents, which means being responsible about alcohol consumption and not staying at the party for so long they feel tired. When driving home, it’s also important to watch carefully what other motorist around you are doing as you could be on the road with a dangerous drunk driver and you want to be paying attention to try to steer clear of problems.
If you are injured in an accident in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
24/7 Wall St.: The most dangerous holidays, Dec. 23, 2013, By Michael Sauter, USA Today
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