Guest Editorial: Safe travels during the holidays

Published 12:00 pm Friday, December 20, 2019

The roads are going to be busy during the Christmas and New Year’s holiday season.

According to the AAA Auto Club, nearly one in three Americans (more than 100 million) will travel 50 miles or more this holiday season.

AAA said driving remains the most popular mode of travel for year-end holiday travel, with more than 90 percent of travelers driving to their holiday destinations.

The bad news is that AAA expects to rescue hundreds of thousands of motorists during the holiday travel period, with the primary reasons being dead batteries, lockouts and flat tires.

AAA is recommending that motorists check the condition of their battery and tires for winter driving before heading out on a holiday getaway. Also, have vehicles inspected by a trusted repair shop.

Law-enforcement agencies and the department of transportation are also expressing concerns about impaired driving during the holiday travel season.

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s Traffic Safety Culture Index, one in five licensed drivers (21 percent) who drink at least occasionally reported having driven when they thought their alcohol level might have been close to, or possibly over, the legal limit in the past year.

Remember buzzed driving is drunk driving.

Then, there is the danger of distracted driving.

Texting, emailing, taking and watching video and other forms of distracted driving are illegal in Georgia and present a real danger to drivers, passengers and everyone on the roadways. Distracted driving kills.

We hope our readers have a safe and enjoyable holiday season and do not allow it to be ruined by exercising bad judgment.