Preventing holiday accidents is of vital importance to every family during the holiday season. You want your loved ones to have a happy and safe holiday, but unfortunately there are many risks faced over the festive season which can create a substantially increased risk of injury. By understanding the dangers, you can make your holiday season safer and hopefully protect your family while also avoiding contributing to the injury risk for others.
To prevent holiday accidents during this festive season, you should:
- Purchase only high quality decorations from trusted brands and avoid overloading electrical circuits. According to Electrical Safety Foundation International, 38 percent of all house fires happen in December, January, or February. Around 1,170 home fires annually from 2004 to 2008 started with house decorations, not including fires that started on Christmas trees. Property damage, deaths, and injuries result. The risk can be reduced by being smart and careful with decorations, but there is still a danger if poorly made decor products are sold and problems arise.
- Be cautious when driving. There are 250 deaths and 27,900 injuries during the holiday driving season, according to USA Today. There are a number of possible reasons why there is a higher risk of car accidents during the holidays. First and foremost, there is an increase in road travel as people drive to visit loved ones and attend celebrations. The risk of drunk driving is also greater on certain days during the holidays, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, and New Years day. Be watchful for heavy traffic and potentially impaired drivers on the roads so you can react accordingly to avoid accidents and try to keep your loved ones safe.
- Be careful where you eat. It is very common for people to dine out over the holidays to celebrate the festive season and to entertain. Unfortunately, food poisoning events happen every year around the holidays. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows around one in six Americans will get a food borne illness each year. Food poisoning needs to be taken seriously. Around 3,000 people die from food borne illness annually. You should make sure restaurants where you eat meet acceptable licensing and food safety standards. Unfortunately, things could still go wrong. The restaurant must be held accountable if a problem arises with illness due to negligence.
- Be cautious of the products you buy. The holiday season is a time when lots of gift-giving occurs. Unfortunately, some of the new products purchased could be dangerous. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported there were 254,200 ER visits in 2015 caused by children who had been injured by toys. Parents should check new products coming into the home to make certain those products have not been recalled.
By following these tips, hopefully you can help to reduce the chances of your family members getting hurt during the holiday season.