BARNSTABLE – As the Christmas season arrives, AAA Northeast is advising residents to be aware of certain safety tips when bringing home a Christmas tree for the celebration.
Officials say an improperly secured tree can not only scratch paint on your car, but also tear door seals or bend window frames as well if not properly secured.
A 2019 AAA study found that 44% of Americans who planned to purchase a real Christmas tree admitted to using unsafe methods to transport it home leading to higher rates of incidents.
In 2021, the last year of available federal data, there were 1,011 fatal crashes nationwide involving falling cargo or debris that came loose from a vehicle during the holiday season.
For Massachusetts between 2018 and 2022, there were 1,365 crashes related to road debris as a contributing factor, including one fatal crash and 254 crashes that resulted in an injury.
Some of the tips AAA Northeast is giving to residents include bringing strong rope or nylon ratchet straps, an old blanket, gloves, and preferably a vehicle with a roof rack.
The tips also say to have the tree wrapped in netting by the lot before loading it, secure the tree at its bottom, center, and top to the vehicle, once it is tied down, give the tree several strong tugs from various angles to check, and drive slowly while taking back roads if possible to avoid higher speed areas.
For more information about tips and tricks for the holiday season visit their website.
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