The summer is a very dangerous season on the road. As much as we often think of summer as a carefree time for fun and relaxation, the truth is that many families find themselves grieving the loss of a loved one or dealing with severe injuries caused in a car accident.
In fact, this trend has been repeated so many times that people often call it the 100 deadliest days of summer. It’s just a reference to the fact that the three main summer months, or the stretch between Memorial Day and Labor Day, results in a spike in car accidents that leads to thousands of fatalities over the decades.
People often assume that the other seasons would be worse with weather concerns and longer nights, whereas the summer tends to have clear, dry roads, long daylight hours, and more mild weather. Rather than keeping people safe, however, these three months cause an increase in accidents. Why does this happen?
Students don’t have to go to school
You can point to things like tourists traveling on unfamiliar roads for vacation or the sheer increase in miles being driven because the weather is good and people have more free time.
But the main reason for the 100 deadliest days of summer is simply that students who used to be in school no longer have to go to class. This applies generally to high school students, but many college students can also be lumped into this group, even though they may have summer jobs.
With the lack of school all day, the miles driven by teenagers increase dramatically. This is problematic because of the disproportionate amount of fatal car accidents that are always caused by teen drivers. They are simply inexperienced and cause more accidents than their age group should be responsible for.
When they don’t have to go to school, this gives them far more time to be on the road, and they have to share that road with commuters and families who are on vacation. This inevitably leads to a lot of car accidents, and they can have very serious ramifications.
Have you lost a loved one?
If you’ve lost a loved one in one of these car accidents or if someone has been severely injured, take the time to carefully look into all the legal options you may have to seek financial compensation.
