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Each year, families from Kansas and Missouri travel to spend Thanksgiving with loved ones. However, crowded highways, long-distance trips, and unpredictable weather can make holiday travel dangerous. With more vehicles on the road, drivers may encounter heavy traffic, sudden delays, and an increased risk of serious accidents.
Thanksgiving car accidents can leave injured drivers and their families facing medical bills, lost wages, and difficult insurance claims. Understanding the common causes of holiday crashes can help motorists make safer decisions while traveling. When another driver’s negligence causes an accident, injured individuals may also have legal options for recovering compensation for their injuries and losses.
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year, and according to recently released numbers, 81.8 million Americans will travel over the holiday. Of those travelers, 73 million (approximately 90%) will take to the roads.
According to the National Safety Council’s analysis of traffic information for the Thanksgiving holiday period (Wednesday evening through Sunday night), approximately 50,100 injuries and 439 deaths will occur across the country. These numbers represent serious consequences of crashes on our roadways during a period of increased travel.
Many of these types of driving situations may occur over the Thanksgiving holiday, when drivers are traveling long distances on expected crowded roads over an extended time period.
Traffic is already a challenge on the roads surrounding the Kansas City metropolitan area and Thanksgiving will only add to the usual flow of traffic on the interstates, major streets, and intersections. According to the study by the travel club AAA, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons and Sunday are when the traffic will be the heaviest, both on the way to and on the return from Thanksgiving vacation.
Motorists can expect to encounter long delays in traffic, having to merge with other cars and experiencing large backups on the highways. Rear-end collisions as well as multi-vehicle accidents can occur when drivers follow too closely, fail to check their blind spots before changing lanes, or fail to lower their speed in time to avoid an accident. Hazardous conditions on major Kansas City highways such as I-70, I-35 and I-435 increase the risk of injury in such accidents.
Long holiday trips are often started very early in the morning after a long day of work at the office. People also tend to drive late at night and continue on for many hours. As the hours pass, a driver can become increasingly fatigued, which can cause slow reflexes and poor judgment, resulting in a serious accident.
A tired driver will react more slowly, will have impaired judgment, and will be unable to keep a lane of travel. A person who is tired will not even see a stop in front of them and can drift into another lane causing a serious accident.
Investigations into accidents caused by driver fatigue typically look at the driver’s travel schedule, witness accounts and other factors to see if the driver was aware of his or her fatigue and chose to drive anyway.
With the focus on road dangers during the holiday travel season, the issue of holiday drinkers driving after Thanksgiving celebrations can be a dangerous mix. 35% of all Thanksgiving traffic fatalities in 2023 involved an alcohol-impaired driver compared to 30% of all traffic fatalities in the country for the same time period.
Impaired driving can cause a driver to have slowed down reactions, poor coordination, and low-quality decision making. At the scene of an impaired driving accident, police can collect evidence of an impaired driver’s responsibility for the collision. Evidence can include officer observations, test results for the presence of alcohol or other drugs in the driver’s blood, and statements from witnesses to the collision.
Weather conditions, like rain, fog, freezing temperatures and in some parts of the country even snow or ice, can make holiday travel especially difficult. Shorter days mean that many people travel late in the day or at night.
Wet roads increase the distance it takes to stop, which decreases the reaction time for drivers. Meanwhile, reduced visibility can hinder the ability to see potential problems on the road ahead of time, increasing the likelihood of an accident. Drivers must slow down and leave plenty of space between other vehicles to help counteract these negative factors.
It is important to remember that weather in itself does not amount to negligence. Drivers have a duty to operate their vehicles safely in all types of weather, and traveling too fast for road conditions can lead to accidents.
Planning ahead can make a meaningful difference when it comes to avoiding Thanksgiving car accidents during the holiday travel season. Families should allow additional travel time and prepare for congestion rather than trying to make up for delays through aggressive driving.
Important Thanksgiving driving safety precautions include:
These steps can reduce exposure to common holiday traffic hazards, although even careful drivers cannot control the behavior of everyone around them.
In determining whether another driver was at fault in Thanksgiving car accidents, consider how your accident occurred and whether another driver failed to drive his or her vehicle in reasonable safety when others were on the road.
For example, another driver could be responsible for the accident if he or she was driving drunk, failed to stop for a red light, failed to stop for a stop sign, followed another vehicle too closely or was even driving too fast for road conditions.
The state laws in which the Thanksgiving car accident occurred will also govern liability for fault for injuries or damages in an accident with multiple cars on the road. In Kansas, no liability exists on the part of a driver for their share of fault in an occurrence and resulting injuries or damages if they are 50% or more responsible for the occurrence. In Missouri, the compensation to which an injured driver is entitled will be reduced in proportion to the fault of the injured driver in causing the accident.
Claims for accidents involving multiple vehicles are often disputed by the insurance companies of the respective vehicles involved in the accident. The approach of an insurance company to a claim of this type is another reason why it is so important to have documentation of the incident and an independent investigation.
It’s not time to be thinking about your Thanksgiving holiday being ruined by another’s carelessness on the road. Unfortunately, accidents do occur and if injuries occur, victims and their families are left to deal with health issues and the resulting loss of time from work while trying to get their insurance company to pay for their resulting injuries and other losses.
While Wallentine Injury Law would always wish you to be spending time with family and loved ones on Thanksgiving, the fact remains that another driver’s negligence could cause serious injury on the holiday. We can investigate accident and help those involved take appropriate legal action. If you have been injured in an accident on Thanksgiving, call Wallentine Injury Law at 913-934-6333 for a free consultation.
The information in this article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Wallentine Injury Law. For advice about your situation, contact one of our lawyers directly.
Thanksgiving car accidents on the road can create unexpected challenges and stress for families, and victims of Thanksgiving accidents have to deal with medical bills, time off from work, and wrestling with their insurance company. Understanding the risks of accidents on the road during the Thanksgiving holiday can help you prepare for your holiday travel and be prepared to seek out the help of a lawyer if another driver’s actions cause an accident with you.
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year, and according to new numbers recently released, 81.8 million Americans will travel over the holiday. Of those travelers, 73 million (approximately 90%) will take to the roads.
According to the National Safety Council’s analysis of traffic information for the Thanksgiving holiday period (Wednesday evening through Sunday night), approximately 50,100 injuries and 439 deaths will occur across the country. These numbers represent serious consequences of crashes on our roadways during a period of increased travel.
Many of these types of driving situations may occur over the Thanksgiving holiday, when drivers are traveling long distances on expected crowded roads over an extended time period.
Traffic is already a challenge on the roads surrounding the Kansas City metropolitan area and Thanksgiving will only add to the usual flow of traffic on the interstates, major streets, and intersections. According to a study by the travel club AAA, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons and Sunday are when the traffic will be the heaviest, both on the way to and on the return from Thanksgiving vacation.
Motorists can expect to encounter long delays in traffic, having to merge with other cars and experiencing large backups on the highways. Rear-end collisions as well as multi-vehicle accidents can occur when drivers follow too closely, fail to check their blind spots before changing lanes, or fail to lower their speed in time to avoid an accident. Hazardous conditions on major Kansas City highways such as I-70, I-35 and I-435 increase the risk of injury in such accidents.
Long holiday trips are often started very early in the morning after a long day of work at the office. People also tend to drive late at night and continue on for many hours. As the hours pass, a driver can become increasingly fatigued, which can cause slow reflexes and poor judgment, resulting in a serious accident.
A tired driver will react more slowly, will have impaired judgment, and will be unable to keep a lane of travel. A person who is tired will not even see a stop in front of them and can drift into another lane causing a serious accident.
Investigations into accidents caused by driver fatigue typically look at the driver’s travel schedule, witness accounts and other factors to see if the driver was aware of his or her fatigue and chose to drive anyway.
With the focus on road dangers during the holiday travel season, the issue of holiday drinkers driving after Thanksgiving celebrations can be a dangerous mix. 35% of all Thanksgiving traffic fatalities in 2023 involved an alcohol-impaired driver compared to 30% of all traffic fatalities in the country for the same time period.
Impaired driving can cause a driver to have slowed down reactions, poor coordination, and low-quality decision making. At the scene of an impaired driving accident, police can collect evidence of an impaired driver’s responsibility for the collision. Evidence can include officer observations, test results for the presence of alcohol or other drugs in the driver’s blood, and statements from witnesses to the collision.
Weather conditions, like rain, fog, freezing temperatures and in some parts of the country even snow or ice, can make holiday travel especially difficult. Shorter days mean that many people travel late in the day or at night.
Wet roads increase the distance it takes to stop, which decreases the reaction time for drivers. Meanwhile, reduced visibility can hinder the ability to see potential problems on the road ahead of time, increasing the likelihood of an accident. Drivers must slow down and leave plenty of space between other vehicles to help counteract these negative factors.
It is important to remember that weather in itself does not amount to negligence. Drivers have a duty to operate their vehicles safely in all types of weather, and traveling too fast for road conditions can lead to accidents.
Planning ahead can make a meaningful difference when it comes to avoiding Thanksgiving car accidents during the holiday travel season. Families should allow additional travel time and prepare for congestion rather than trying to make up for delays through aggressive driving.
Important Thanksgiving driving safety precautions include:
These steps can reduce exposure to common holiday traffic hazards, although even careful drivers cannot control the behavior of everyone around them.
In determining whether another driver was at fault in Thanksgiving car accidents, consider how your accident occurred and whether another driver failed to drive his or her vehicle in reasonable safety when others were on the road.
For example, another driver could be responsible for the accident if he or she was driving drunk, failed to stop for a red light, failed to stop for a stop sign, followed another vehicle too closely or was even driving too fast for road conditions.
The state laws in which the Thanksgiving car accident occurred will also govern liability for fault for injuries or damages in an accident with multiple cars on the road. In Kansas, no liability exists on the part of a driver for their share of fault in an occurrence and resulting injuries or damages if they are 50% or more responsible for the occurrence. In Missouri, the compensation to which an injured driver is entitled will be reduced in proportion to the fault of the injured driver in causing the accident.
Claims for accidents involving multiple vehicles are often disputed by the insurance companies of the respective vehicles involved in the accident. The approach of an insurance company to a claim of this type is another reason why it is so important to have documentation of the incident and an independent investigation.
It’s not time to be thinking about your Thanksgiving holiday being ruined by another’s carelessness on the road. Unfortunately, accidents do occur and if injuries occur, victims and their families are left to deal with health issues and the resulting loss of time from work while trying to get their insurance company to pay for their resulting injuries and other losses.
While Wallentine Injury Law would always wish you to be spending time with family and loved ones on Thanksgiving, the fact remains that another driver’s negligence could cause serious injury on the holiday. We can investigate accident and help those involved take appropriate legal action. If you have been injured in an accident on Thanksgiving, call Wallentine Injury Law at 913-934-6333 for a free consultation.
The information in this article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Wallentine Injury Law. For advice about your situation, contact one of our lawyers directly.
Jerry and Christal were outstanding from start to finish. They guided me through every step of the process, communicated clearly, and fought hard to make sure I received a fair settlement. I always felt supported and informed, and the outcome exceeded my expectations. I couldn’t have asked for better representation.
I would like to thank Wallentine Injury Law. Cody and Trish were the best. I even had a chance to meet Jerry. We talked all the time, they kept me updated and got me the most, and I would definitely go back if I had another accident. I wasn’t just
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CJ Dimarco recently assisted me with a legal matter that had not only taken a financial and physical toll on me, but also a mental toll, and I genuinely don’t know how I could have even began to think about getting through it without his professional guidance along the way.
This is the best injury law firm anybody can go to. Throughout my four years, in my case, they have been the utmost respectful and kind to me. They always make sure to communicate with me and take care of all my needs. I would recommend Jerry to anybody who’s
Amazing firm! Awesome with results and very ethical with all they do. It’s very nice to find somebody with such integrity.
CJ and Angela were an absolute pleasure to work with! They ensured our involvement in the whole process was very minimal and they were able to produce the results we were hoping for! CJ was professional and transparent and did an excellent job of getting us our settlement. Angela did
It is rare to find such an excellent team of competent and compassionate people in any business. To find them in a law firm is an extremely pleasant surprise. In addition to being a great lawyer, Jerry is also really good at hiring and empowering great people.
Sarah and Cody are an awesome team. Listened to me when I had concerns and brought a fantastic final settlement.
Outstanding legal services. He pays close attention to your needs, gives excellent advice, and manages your issues with you. Highly recommend using his services.
Jerry Wallentine, Angela Oswald, and their staff represented us in a serious truck accident. Not only did they work tirelessly to get us covered in a fair and equitable manner, but they were always friendly, personable, and of the highest moral character. We can most highly recommend them in every
They were very professional and caring. They heard our story and what we were there for, and immediately wanted to help, answered any questions I had at any time. Christal was amazing, and I appreciate everything she did to help my family.
My husband was in a pretty bad accident where another driver ran a red light. I was (thankfully) able to obtain video footage from the city traffic cams, and we reached out to Jerry. From the onset of our working relationship, Jerry and his team were very good communicators. We've
Jerry is top notch!!! I called Wallentine Injury Law LLC, after being turned away by two other attorneys. A diligent and thorough professional, Jerry reviewed my case with an open mind. He read between the lines and devised a creative strategy which resulted in a HUGE win! I highly recommend
Jerry represented me on a complex Johnson County District Court case that was very complicated. He had an excellent grasp of the facts and the law and fought hard for me. The result was better than I expected!
I am so grateful to have worked with Jerry and Sarah on my personal injury case I can’t thank them enough for everything they did for me throughout my case, they consistently listened to my concerns and ensured that I felt heard and understood. Their prompt responses and clear communication
This group was fantastic to work with! I got in a wreck and my insurance company, the person who caused the wreck, and his insurance company, did me so wrong. They helped me get justice and A pretty nice settlement. Ashley was AMAZING! with being transparent and contacting me, making
I had 2 cases and the Martin & Wallentine law firm took great care of me and my needs. The communication was great , especially with Christal constantly updating me. I would recommend them to my friends and family and I wish them all the best in the future
I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for Jerry Wallentine and his team's exceptional legal guidance and unwavering support throughout my case. Their expertise and dedication have made a significant impact, and I am truly thankful for their assistance in helping me.
I am extremely happy with everything Martin & Wallentine has done for me. If I ever need anything in the future they will be my first choice. Especially love Christal. Always kept me updated on what was happening all the time and very friendly.
I contacted Martin & Wallentine about helping me with getting a quite title for a vehicle that I purchased out of state. And they where very helpful and walked me through the process and after speaking with them we proceeded and it was great they keep me updated with the
