Spread Joy and Goodwill When Traveling the Day After Christmas

I was curious to see what kind of reports or statistics were available for day after Christmas traffic in our country. Like any decent, red-blooded American, I began my search at Google. Some of the top results referenced impressive day after Christmas traffic increases like 35% and 50%... of course, these were the statistics for day after Christmas web traffic for music download sites and online retailers.

My mind was eased somewhat. I mean, hey man, if Google doesn't care about it, why should I?

In all seriousness, the increase in day after Christmas automobile traffic is always going to be significant, despite the increase in shoppers who prefer the web. The specific numbers are really beside the point; the potential dangers should be visibly obvious to anybody driving a car the day after Christmas. This increase in automobile volume should be a consideration for anybody planning to get behind the wheel on December 26^th.

The spike in day after Christmas traffic comes from two distinct sources. First, there are the bargain shoppers. Secondly, there are the people returning home from their Christmas visits. In theory, the shoppers stick to the city roads while the latter use the highways and interstates. In reality, the almost-constant overlap between the two groups is inevitable.

You can take comfort in the fact that you're not driving in New Year's Eve traffic, Halloween weekend traffic, or St. Patty's Day traffic. So at least you're sharing the road with fewer drunks than you would be on the other notoriously dangerous driving days. But that's no reason to let your guard down. A bad driver doesn't need to be plowed to plow headfirst into your car.