It is Thanksgiving Day, and you are stuffed with turkey, potatoes and pie. All you have to worry about now is how much weight you've gained from the feast, right?
Wrong.
You need to worry about Black Friday — and Black Sunday.
These two days are bad for car accidents, according to claims data from Mayfield, Ohio-based Progressive Casualty Insurance Co.
On Black Friday — the biggest shopping day of the year — auto-related accidents increase by 34%, according to the insurer. The data shows that 31% of Black Friday accidents take place in parking lots.
And the Sunday after Thanksgiving — Black Sunday — has the highest percentage of out-of-state accidents of any day during the holiday week, with such accidents most likely to happen in New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, California and North Carolina.
Here are some tips you, your employees and your customers can follow to decrease the likelihood of being in an accident — and having to file a claim — during the rest of the holiday:
(Photo: Thinkstock)
Black Friday tip No. 1
Avoid spaces next to cars parked at an angle. You may even consider staying away from spaces at the end of an aisle to avoid being hit by turning vehicles.
(Photo: Mel Evans/AP Photo)
Black Friday tip No. 2
Park as far away as you can from store entrances. It is less crowded in those areas of parking lots, and your vehicle will have less of chance of getting dings and scratches from car doors or shopping carts.
(Photo: Thinkstock)
Black Friday tip No. 3
Use your eyes and mirrors — and ask your passengers to look around, too — to make sure your path is clear before pulling or backing out of a parking space. This helps avoid cars that are speeding, cutting across the lot of pulling out of other parking spaces.
(Photo: Thinkstock)
Black Sunday tip No. 1
Thanksgiving Sunday is the most dangerous day of the holiday week to be on the road. Do you really need to travel on this day?
(Photo: Thinkstock)
Black Sunday tip No. 2
Go back on Monday instead. This day is the safest time to head home after the holidays, with 37% fewer accidents compared with the Sunday of Thanksgiving.
(Photo: Thinkstock)
Black Sunday tip No. 3.
Cut the visit short and head back on Saturday, which is a safer time to travel, with 17% fewer accidents compared with the Sunday of Thanksgiving.
(Source: Progressive)
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