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 an 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.