The planning activities and transfers during the holiday season can be a key tool for reduce stress and prevent accidents, in a period marked by the increase in vehicular traffic and the saturation of services, specialists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
According to data from WAZE Mobile, Peak hours at this time of year are mainly concentrated from Tuesday to Saturday, between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., a period in which work dinners, celebrations and a greater number of trips to supermarkets, shopping centers and department stores coincide.
Added to this is the departure of people from Mexico City to other entities, which increases congestion on access roads and increases the demand for app-based taxis and personal care services.
He academic of the Faculty of Psychology, Ricardo Trujillo Correa, explained that in this context it is essential to identify and manage stressful situations, since they can encourage road incidents. “It is not an individual problem, it is the context, the environment where we face demands associated with meeting expectations and achievements,” he noted.
The specialist exemplified that, sometimes, the pressure to comply with traditions, such as preparing a specific Christmas dinner, increases tension unnecessarily, when better organization would allow it to be resolved in a simpler and calmer way. At the same time, he stressed that traffic problems do not always originate in people’s bad moods, but rather in vehicle saturation, the lack of alternatives and the deficiencies of public transportation, factors that are connected to social and even political dimensions.
Given this, Trujillo recommended planning travel schedules in advance, considering alternative routes and being attentive to additional risks such as marches, parties or road closures for festivities. He also suggested, as far as possible, using public transportation and, if traveling in a private vehicle, staying calm, wearing a seat belt, avoiding driving under the influence of alcohol, substances or fatigue, and respecting safe distances.
For its part, Mario Alberto Ordaz Montes, deputy director of Road Infrastructure of the General Directorate of General Services and Mobility of the UNAMhighlighted the importance of taking extreme technical precautions during this season. Among the recommended measures are maintaining double the distance from the vehicle in front, respecting or even reducing speed limits and carrying out a prior mechanical check, especially of brakes and tires.
Ordaz emphasized that girls, boys and pets must travel in the back seat with the corresponding safety devices, and recalled that driving while intoxicated or tired decreases reflexes, dexterity and attention to the road. In the case of motorcyclists, he stressed that the risk is greater, so the use of a helmet, protective clothing and footwear is essential, in addition to not exceeding two people per unit, keeping the lights on and avoiding dangerous maneuvers such as passing on the right or invading confined lanes.
With better organization of times, respect for road rules and a preventive attitude, the specialists agreed that it is possible to reduce the stress characteristic of the holiday season and move towards safer, more efficient and sustainable mobility, in which all people assume a shared responsibility.
