Strange But True Thanksgiving Traffic Facts

Date: November 24, 2009

Each year, Americans eat 45 million turkeys at Thanksgiving. And that’s not the only weird fact you can chew on this Turkey Day.

Here are a few pre-Thanksgiving leftovers from the “you can’t make this stuff up” file, courtesy of Tom Vanderbilt, author of the new book, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us), and GreatFacts.com:

• People with short fingers are safer drivers.
• A traffic conviction helps lower your crash risk.
• At least 50 people annually are killed by cars in driveways.
• Drivers honk less on weekends.
• More people are killed crossing the street legally than jaywalking.
• Half of all traffic fatalities happen at impact speeds of less than 35 mph.
• Every year, 350 people die entering the freeway the wrong way.
• “Children at Play” signs do not reduce speed or accidents.
• Car drivers follow cyclists with helmets more closely – but drive further away from those who appear to be female.
• People who do best on their driver’s tests get into more crashes.
• The worst traffic on a single road in a single hour is in Honolulu.
• Los Angeles highways are so congested that the average commuter sits in traffic for 82 hours a year. (For those of us in Portland, a reason to give thanks!)

DuBois Law Group wishes you and your family a happy and SAFE Thanksgiving.

DuBois Law Group is a personal injury law firm located in Portland, Oregon, and serves clients in all Oregon cities and counties, including Portland, Beaverton, Multnomah County, Hillsboro, Gresham, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Tualatin, Troutdale, Sellwood, Corvallis, Salem, Eugene, and Albany.