Unfortunately, many of them don’t know that they might end up spending the Fourth of July in a hospital. This national holiday is notorious for its high DUI rate, which means you may end up sharing the same roads as some reckless and intoxicated individuals. It is important to be aware of how dangerous driving can get around this holiday week and where you’ll likely encounter these irresponsible motorists.
Unfavorable statistics
Two studies last year by financial websites highlight how much of an issue drunk driving is on Independence Day and for South Dakota in general. WalletHub’s fact sheet states that the Fourth of July is America’s top beer-drinking holiday, has an average of 466 car deaths throughout the nation every year and that there were 188 DUI-related deaths on this day in 2016.
Keep in mind most of these statistics revolve around the day of the Fourth of July. While the holiday on its own has dangerous roads, plenty of people take more than one day off during this week. There is still a higher chance to come across a drunk driver on the day before or after Independence Day than most of the summer.
It also doesn’t help that ValuePenguin found South Dakota to have the seventh highest DUI fatality rate in the nation. Excessive drinking has also cost the state nearly $600 million per year.
Tourist problems
Most of the reckless drivers you may come across on the Fourth may not even be from South Dakota to begin with. Thousands of people travel by car during this week, and many of them will pass through South Dakota to get to a neighboring state like Minnesota or someplace further. Since many of these visitors are going on vacation, expect a large portion of them not to arrive on the roads sober.
However, South Dakota is a very popular state to visit around this time of year. Summer is the optimal season for camping, and there are dozens of campgrounds and parks scattered throughout the state. As expected, Mount Rushmore becomes a very popular place to visit during this week. Even if you don’t come across many drunk drivers, you’ll still see a big uptick in traffic featuring drivers unfamiliar with the state.
As your chances of coming across a dangerous driver dramatically increases around this holiday, it is important to know who to contact if you end up in a serious crash. Motor vehicle collision attorneys can help you understand what options you have in financially recovering from an incident that ruined your day off.
]]>If a fire breaks out on your property, you won’t have a lot of time before it engulfs your house. You need to get out fast, but you also can’t leave empty-handed. Once you’re safely off your property, who knows if and when you’ll have a home to go back to? After figuring out what part of your house is the best place to put an emergency kit, here are some items you should consider placing within it or near it.
Emergency cash
This should be pretty self-explanatory. You can be gone from your ranch for weeks or months after the wildfire. Set aside some of your savings within the emergency kit to have so you can get gas, food and a place to stay at while the fire is still going on.
Electronics
Invest in a flashlight as well as an additional phone charger for your current model to place in the kit. The flashlight will come in handy in case your car breaks down at night. The phone charger is crucial so you can talk to your loved ones, emergency responders and your insurance company to assess the whole situation.
First aid
You or a loved one might suffer an injury during your escape or get unlucky during your time away. Not only should you include typical stuff such as bandages, tweezers and safety pins, but you also any prescriptions or medications for current conditions you have.
Food and water
Even if you have spare cash, you should keep non-perishable food items and water to keep yourself hydrated and refreshed during your exit trip. Canned foods and granola bars should last you a long time before you can consider replacing them. Water is crucial for hotter weather and in case you got too close to the smoke.
Spare clothes and a blanket
Unfortunately, the wildfire may not give you a lot of time to get back in your house and empty your closet. Have enough clothing in the kit for each family member to last in various outdoor conditions. Blankets are also necessary to keep yourselves warm no matter what time of the year it is. You’ll need a good night’s rest after escaping from the stressful situation.
Documents
If you don’t have duplicate copies of your insurance policies, social security, medical records or estate planning documents, then acquire some and place them in the kit. You’ll need access to them when discussing your recovery options.
Fire safety tools
In dire circumstances, you need items that can help you withstand the heat as you obtain your kit. Spare fire extinguishers and face masks are worth having around during these disasters.
Financially recovering from these disasters can be extremely difficult. A qualified legal team with experience in wildland fires can help you slowly get back on your feet after these devastating losses.
]]>Taking your ATV on the road, however, is incredibly dangerous. You should know why it is risky to drive your ATV on public streets and how to keep your family safe on them.
ATV-related deaths continue to rise
In South Dakota, ATVs are legal to drive on all roads except interstate freeways. But being legal does not mean that it is safe.
Most ATV use occurs on off-road trails. But over 60% of deaths caused by ATVs occur on paved roads. ATVs expose their drivers to the outside world instead of covering them with a roof—so an collision can be even more dangerous than it might be in a car.
Another reason that more deaths occur on roads than on trails is that ATV manufacturers design their vehicles to work better in rougher conditions. They tend to be tall and narrow with a high center of gravity—which is good for driving over bumpy dirt and rocks. But on a flat, paved road, all it does is increase the chance of rolling over.
What can you do to ride safely?
It may be legal to drive your ATV on the road—but most experts advise against it. Whether you are riding on pavement or dirt, you should always be as safe as possible. Make sure to:
Being cautious could mean the difference between going back home after your ride and going to the hospital. There’s no such thing as too safe—especially if you are riding with your children, who might not be as experienced. Staying off the road and being careful even on trails can help ensure that your ATV ride doesn’t end in disaster.
]]>Even though winter is over, there is still plenty of snow and ice that is melting in the Midwestern states. Combine that with the amount of rain we get from March to May and you won’t be seeing those high waters go lower for a while.
Arguably the drivers that suffer the most from these conditions are the ones paid to be behind the wheel. Despite the advantages a truck driver has over regular motorists around these conditions, there have been several deaths already that prove more precautions need to be taken.
One river, two weeks, three deaths
In late March, a garbage truck driver and a passenger crashed through a guardrail and landed in the James River. This river has been experiencing major flooding ever since the middle of March and has been dropping at a very minimal rate. Officials found their bodies a day after someone reported them missing. The South Dakota Highway Patrol deemed the cause of the collision to be equipment failure.
Just two weeks later, state officials found another dead body in the same river along with a van. The only thing separating him from the water was a barbed-wire fence, which he appeared to crash through. Even though officials label the James River at this point to be at a “moderate flood” stage, the water still remained high and outside the banks.
Preparing for future floods
Some may only cite floods being a major threat when there is water covering the roads, but these deaths prove otherwise. Many flooded areas in the state have weak barriers separating the roads from the water that can easily break from one car alone.
While trucks can handle high waters better than regular cars, truck drivers are very vulnerable in these areas because their vehicles take up so much space on the road. All it takes is one wrong turn to put them in serious trouble. With plenty of rain water, ice, snow storms and potholes present during this season in South Dakota, avoiding that wrong turn becomes a lot more difficult.
If you or a loved one suffer from a major truck injury in the spring, consider contacting a workers’ compensation attorney so you can get what you need to recover from the traumatic experience.
]]>The type of car you drive
Cars can vary greatly in size and some are more prone to flipping than others. Tall and narrow large vehicles are much more likely to roll than small compact cars. SUVs, vans and pickup trucks can be more dangerous due to their size and distribution of weight.
How fast you are going
About 40 percent of fatal rollovers involve excessive speeding. Going too fast can give even the slightest bump or adjustment huge consequences.
Almost 75 percent of these collisions occur where the speed limit is 55 miles per hour or higher. Most highways here in South Dakota have speed limits far above that. You should be careful not to exceed the limit on these high-speed roads.
Where you are driving
Roads without separations increase the risk of rolling as well. If you lose control of your car, dividers or barriers can bring you to a stop before you flip. Rural areas are less likely to have barriers, which is why the majority of fatal rollover collisions occur on rural roads.
The chance of rolling your car is always present. Your risk could be greater based your vehicle and the areas you drive in. Being aware of the dangers may help you keep your tires on ground, where they belong.
]]>These days, more states are becoming aware of how high the chances are for wildfires are for the whole year. California’s multiple disastrous wildfires in 2018 is a prime example of how they can happen just about any time during the year. Even though California has a significantly different environment from South Dakota, local ranchers shouldn’t assume that they can rest easy once it gets colder outside. They need to be aware of the potential risks that can cause wildfires during the winter.
High winds
When it comes to natural causes starting wildfires, experts frequently bring up lightning. Since winter has much colder temperatures, snow and little to no lightning storms, many assume that this is the ideal weather for avoiding wildfires.
Unfortunately, you don’t have to go too far back to find an example proving how wrong that assumption is. In 2017, the Black Hills experienced their third largest wildfire in the form of the Legion Lake Fire. The cause of this was high winds pushing a fallen tree into a power line. The snow and cold temperatures did little to contain the catastrophe. According to The Washington Post, the winter months are the windiest time of the year in what they found to be the second windiest state of the nation. Property owners should routinely check on trees to make sure high gusts won’t tear them down near dangerous areas any time soon.
Warming up
The Polar Vortex of 2019 reminds us just how cold it can get in the Midwest during the winter. Understandably, outside workers may want to construct a campfire during some of their longer shifts. If you plan to do so, make sure you are following South Dakota’s fire laws and be cautious on when you choose to have the fire. Days with heavy amounts of wind can make it very difficult to contain.
People that try to heat themselves inside can also put their neighbors at risk. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, half of the fires caused by home heating equipment occurs in the winter months. If any house on or near your property starts burning, it may not be long until it reaches your ranch. They can happen from placing flammable material near heat sources, having too many heating appliances go at once or poor placements of heaters and portable generators.
A large percentage of wildfires are caused by human error, and winter is a season where many people underestimate seasonal conditions. You need to make sure your surroundings are prepared for the higher winds and to be careful if you plan on starting a fire outside. If someone else started a winter fire that costed you thousands of dollars in property damage, consider seeking legal help to make financial recovery easier.
]]>In the past decade, the United States has seen an increase of 20 percent in the occurrence of truck-related collisions, and trucking fatalities are at their highest level in 29 years. Overall, the traffic fatality rate has shown a decrease, but fatalities involving trucks have increased.
Truck driver error
A 33-month long Truck Causation Study of 12,000 truck crashes found that many of these collisions and fatalities were the result of overworked and tired truck drivers. With pressure to meet tight deadlines and work unrealistic schedules, drivers are working long hours without adequate rest. Federal regulations meant to mandate the hours of rest and limit the number of hours a driver spends on the road are often unfollowed, leading to adverse physical conditions for drivers.
Drivers in a hurry to meet a deadline also tend to speed, another contributing factor in truck-related crashes.
In addition to drivers driving tired, the research shows four other areas where drivers were at fault:
Other components in the crashes they studied included weather conditions, driver experience, road conditions, equipment failure and traffic congestion.
Our highways have seen an increase in trucks on the road as goods are at an all-time demand. Since truck drivers are often at fault in a truck-related motor vehicle crash, use caution and practice safe driving habits when sharing the roads with commercial haulers.
]]>Distractions behind the wheel can be anything that takes your attention from the task at hand–a meal, your GPS or other passengers. But according to the Centers for Disease Control, texting while behind the wheel is the most dangerous. Texting combines three dangerous factors–it takes your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel and your attention from driving. When you send a text while traveling at 55 MPH, you cover the span of a football field in that five seconds–plenty of time to cause an collision.
Teens most at risk
In the last decade, teens and young adults aged 16-24 have been the highest risk age group for texting while driving, with the highest crash rate from distracted driving. Most teens know it’s dangerous and illegal, and yet, the behavior continues.
Despite increased publicity and tougher laws, a recent survey of 101,000 teenagers found that teens are still texting and sending emails while driving. Nationally, the rate is about 40% but in South Dakota, teens are texting behind the wheel at a rate of 64%. Four other largely rural states were among the top: North Dakota, Nebraska, Montana and Wyoming.
The teens surveyed admitted to texting or sending an email at least once in the previous 30 days and the occurrence rate increased as they got older–18-year-olds were more likely to text behind the wheel than 15-year-olds. The researchers fear that phone use while driving might be even higher as it only questioned the occurrence of texting and emailing, not using other apps, making calls or taking pictures.
Discourage the behavior
If you’re the parent of a teen or young adult, there are ways you can discourage phone use behind the wheel for your teen:
Distracted driving is an entirely preventable public safety issue. Encourage your teens and young adults to make safe choices behind the wheel to keep themselves and everyone else safe on the roadways.
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