MOST COMMON HOLIDAY ACCIDENTS
We are told that holidays are all about family, the spirit of giving, the time to eat, catch up, reminisce of days past and of course the giving of gifts. What we aren’t told, is that many holidays are insurance nightmares. With so many accidents happening around this time causing property and bodily harm, it’s a wonder people have any fun at all. Fortunately, most of these accidents can be avoided with a minimum of common sense insuring that your holiday is more “Norman Rockwell” and less “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”.
Probably the most common accidents are fires. House fires from Christmas lights, candles and Christmas trees. It’s amazing how careless people are when putting up what is essentially kindling, and stringing it with wires pumping electricity through them. Most of these types of fires can be prevented by simply turning off the lights when you leave the room. If you are in the room, you can see if a fire has started and take action right away, minimizing most damage, however, if you are out of the room, there will be no one there to stop it. And remember with electrical fires that water will actually make it spread, so they are not to be treated the same.
Driving accidents also happen more around the holidays. There is generally more inclement weather, and more drivers on the road; this is a recipe for disaster. Always practice defensive driving and never assume the other guy is a good driver. If you live in places that get icy, make sure you have the right kind of tires on your car. On extremely busy days (like the day before Christmas mad rush for last minute presents), don’t leave the house if you don’t have to. One less car on the road can be a really good thing.
Mall parking lots can be more like bumper cars the busier it is. There can be many people in a hurry, all fighting for the same parking spot. Even though cars aren’t necessarily going fast at the mall, bumps and dings can end up being very expensive, especially depending on how high your deductible is. Remember, it’s only a parking spot. Don’t even try to get one close to the entrance, you’ll have better luck further away… besides, the extra walking just might give you a good excuse for that second slice of pumpkin pie.