Happy Labor Day!
Labor Day is the last long weekend of summer - before school starts, the weather gets cold and motorcycles get put away for the winter. It’s the ideal time for a long ride, but Labor Day weekend is also one of the riskiest times to be on the road.
This is because the Labor Day weekend has one of the highest rates of drunk driving accidents. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Labor Day ranks second of all days in the year for motor vehicle deaths; only the Fourth of July has more fatalities. The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates that there will be about 400 traffic deaths over the holiday weekend and many of these fatal accidents will involve motorcyclists.
Some will involve just motorcyclists. About half of all fatal Wisconsin motorcycle accidents are single vehicle crashes.
42% of fatal single-vehicle motorcycle crashes involve blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) of 0.08 percent or higher. In previous years, the majority of these drivers were young. Until recently, the rate of alcohol-impaired motorcycle fatalities was highest among the 20-24 year age group. But, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that the rate an increasing number of older adults are also dying in alcohol-involved motorcycle crashes.
To prevent Labor Day motorcycle accident deaths, Wisconsin and other states are participating in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s program “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over." From August 19 to September 5, more than 10,000 law enforcement organizations across the United States are stepping up efforts to keep intoxicated drivers and motorcyclists off the road.
If you are planning a Labor Day road trip, wait until you’ve stopped for the day before indulging in that beer. Have a safe and happy holiday!
If you experience the unfortunate event of a Labor Day motorcycle accident, contact the Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa bike crash attorneys of Hupy and Abraham today for a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation, toll-free at 800-800-5678.