Fourth of July Driving Safety Tips

Plan on leaving Kalamazoo for the holiday weekend?  More people are killed in car crashes than by fireworks on the 4th of July so, here are some safety tips.

According to PRnewswire, only seven people are killed by fireworks each year.  But the National Safety Council says over 460 people will die in car crashes this weekend alone.  And another 50,000 will be injured.  So if you're driving somewhere, here are four things to think about:

1.  Make sure everyone in the car has their seat belt on.  According to the National Safety Council, 181 will survive crashes this weekend because of seat belts.  And if we ALL wore them, another 110 people would survive.

2.  Choose a designated driver.  Since 2010, 37% of all the fatal car crashes over Fourth of July weekend have involved alcohol.

3.  Get plenty of sleep the night before you drive.  And if it's a long trip, take a lot of breaks.  About 70,000 crashes a year are caused by people falling asleep at the wheel.

4.  Don't text and drive.  More and more studies have found that even using your speakerphone is distracting.  So it's not worth the risk, especially with kids in the car.