CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVDN) – Last week, the U.S. Senate approved a bipartisan resolution offered by U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) encouraging Americans nationwide to exercise greater caution in their holiday travels amid a period of historically increased traffic incidents and fatalities. The Senate passed their bipartisan Drive Safer Sunday Resolution unanimously.
“The Sunday after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest—if not the busiest—travel day in our country,” Senator Capito said. “Our resolution encourages everyone that will be on our roads to drive carefully because safety is and will always be my top transportation priority.”
“As a father of two young children, the safety of my family is paramount when traveling to see loved ones during the holidays,” Senator Reverend Warnock said. “We know safer streets require each of us to play our part, so I implore Georgians and all Americans to exercise caution amid the busy holiday season.”
During the 2021 Thanksgiving weekend, there were 361 passenger deaths in traffic crashes, and half of all victims were unrestrained by a seat belt. Moreover, of the 361 deaths over the 2021 Thanksgiving weekend, 190 involved alcohol-impaired driving crashes. In 2021, 280 people lost their lives on West Virginia roads. And last year in West Virginia, three individuals died and two were injured in a Thanksgiving crash on I-79.
This resolution designates the Sunday after Thanksgiving as “Drive Safer Sunday” and encourages:
- K-12 schools, colleges, teachers, and administrators to launch campus-wide educational campaigns to urge students to focus on safe driving;
- Trucking firms to alert employees to focus on safe driving the Sunday after Thanksgiving and publicize its importance on the Citizens Band Radio Service and at truck stops;
- Clergy to remind congregations to travel safely when attending services;
- Law enforcement to remind drivers and passengers to drive safely;
- Americans wear seat belts and educate themselves about highway safety.
