A car crash lawyer’s safe driving tips for 4th of July trips

The only “bang” you should hear on Independence Day is from the fireworks: To ensure safe 4^th of July trips, drive sober and without distractions

A record number of people will be taking to Michigan’s roadways for their 4^th of July trips this Independence Day – nearly 1.6 million Michiganders.

Our country’s independence is worth celebrating, and our attorneys think it would be wonderful to celebrate a July Fourth that is as free of car crashes and crash-related injuries and deaths as possible.

We hope you’ll take to heart these safe driving tips:

• Drive carefully and cautiously – as if your family’s and your life depends on it. Fatal Fourth of July car crashes have increased between 2014-2017.
• Drive sober. Nearly 50% of the fatal 4^th of July crashes in Michigan in 2017 involved alcohol.
• Don’t ride with someone who has been drinking.
• If you’ve been drinking – or if your “ride” has been drinking – then make safer arrangements to get home. Have a designated driver. Call a taxi or an Uber or a Lyft. Or just stay where you are until you’re sober and safe to drive.
• Avoid distracted driving. If you’re texting while driving, you’re 23 times more likely to be involved in a car crash. And, if you’re dialing a hand-held cell phone, then you’re 12 times more likely to crash.
• Watch your speed! Not only will state and local police officers will be out in full force over the holiday, but more importantly speed kills: “Excessive speed was indicated as the hazardous action by 12.4 percent of the drivers involved in fatal crashes.” (“2016 Quick Facts,” 2016 Michigan Traffic Crash Facts)​

Fatal crashes and fatalities in Michigan during 4^th of July trips

Below are the Michigan statistics for deadly car crashes over the Fourth of July holiday:

• 2017: 14 fatal car crashes with 14 fatalities (6 “alcohol involved crashes”)
• 2016: 13 fatal car crashes with 13 fatalities (4 “alcohol-related fatal crashes”)
• 2015: 11 fatal car crashes with 12 fatalities (8 “alcohol-related fatal crashes”)
• 2014: 11 fatal car crashes with 12 fatalities (3 “alcohol-related fatal crashes”)

(Sources: “2017 Michigan Holiday Traffic Fatalities,” Michigan State Police Traffic Crash Reporting Unit; “5 year trends-Fatal crashes and persons killed for select holiday periods in Michigan,” 2016 Michigan Traffic Crash Facts)

Fatal car accidents across the country during 4^th of July trips

Below are the national statistics for deadly auto accidents over the Independence Day holiday, according to NHTSA’s July 4^th 2018 “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Fact Sheet:

• “Over the 2016 Fourth of July holiday (6 p.m. July 2 to 5:59 a.m. July 6), 188 people were killed in crashes involving at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a BAC of .08 or higher. This is a 28-percent increase from 2015, during which 146 people were killed during the same holiday period.”
• “During the 2016 July Fourth holiday period, nearly half of those who died in a vehicle crash were involved in a crash with at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a BAC of .15 or higher—almost twice the legal limit.”
• “Alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes during the 2016 July Fourth holiday period was more than three times higher at night than it was during the day.”
• “From 2012 to 2016, there were 780 people killed in drunk-driving crashes over the Fourth of July holiday periods.”