5 Black Friday Driving Safety Tips - NYCM Insurance Blog

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Nov 22, 2019

5 Black Friday Driving Safety Tips


Black Friday is chaotic. Areas are flooded with eager and exhausted shoppers who are rushing to get to stores for the best deals. Not to mention, the weather is often less-than-desirable, as snow and ice have likely arrived. Ah, the perfect ingredients for an accident.
Black Friday can be a fun and financially helpful shopping day, but it can also be dangerous.
If you do choose to participate in Black Friday shopping, there are a few defensive and preventative driving tips you might want to take advantage of.

1.      Plan your day ahead of time

Having a plan for your day is a good idea. You should have an idea of what stores you’d like to visit and what items you’re looking for at each respective location. Another good idea is to plan your route to the stores. Keep in mind that traffic will likely be much more congested and hectic than it is on a typical shopping day. For this reason, it’s also smart to plan a couple alternate routes. You might even consider using a mapping application on your mobile device. Many of these applications will help reroute you if you encounter traffic, an accident, or otherwise.

2.      Avoid driver’s fatigue by fueling up and resting

According to the CDC, drowsy driving may result in up to 6,000 fatal crashes each year. In fact, in 2013 it caused over 72,000 crashes. Many Black Friday sales begin very early in the morning, so to avoid a drowsy-driving related incident on your way, be sure to rest up ahead of time. Before you leave, have a good breakfast and maybe some caffeine. If you have a meal, post-shopping extravaganza, try to stay away from alcohol and other things that will induce grogginess. You’ll likely be exhausted from waking much earlier than normal and running around all day, which will increase the chances of being involved in an accident in the restaurant parking lot or on your drive home.

3.      Prevent distracted driving

Even the best of us can get distracted while driving – especially on a day as hectic as Black Friday. Unfortunately, parking lots are chock full of people. To avoid hitting another vehicle or much worse, a person, try to avoid any possible distractions. Pre-loading a playlist, cleaning your vehicle ahead of time, keeping a safe following distance, and prepping before your trip are all great tips to prevent distracted driving.

4.      Calm your road rage

 It’s important to go in open-minded. It’s not good to have you heart set on anything in particular. Say you saw an awesome deal on a new flat screen, and that’s your #1 item on Black Friday. If that flat screen isn’t available, try to remember that it isn’t the end of the world. It’s important to go with the flow. The less you stress – the better. Keeping cool, calm, and collected will hopefully prevent any road rage related issues. Keep in mind that things can always be worse, and you can only control yourself!

5.      Park strategically

Parking lots are insane on Black Friday – so you don’t necessarily have as many options as you might have on a typical shopping day. In this scenario it is better to park further away where there is less congestion. This way you’ll be less likely to run into another person or vehicle. You’ll also be less likely to have your car doored, scratched, or dented by a less careful shopper.