Travel agencies predict more people will be hitting the road this spring break, despite gas prices.  But those rising costs could keep the more frugal travelers from going very far.  Several local Alabama travel agencies feel as though the hint of an economic turn around has made consumers more confident in taking a vacation; and their primary destinations will be within the state.  With increased traffic on the roadways, however, there is also the risk of increased accidents.

Researchers with the CAPs program at the University of Alabama collect data on traffic accidents across the state.  With their databases, they can isolate variables to see the causes of crashes, the time of day most crashes occur, and even the gender that most often is involved in a traffic accident (more often, it's men.)

CAPs researchers discovered that during the spring break travel season, some of the normal statistics shifted.  Not surprisingly, they report the number of DUI related crashes peak during this time.  In fact, there are more DUI crashes during this week than at any other time in the year.  The ages of the people involved in traffic accidents during this time also change from the norm.  Typically, CAPs research shows that the age of the people involved in crashes flows with the population; and middle-aged drivers are involved in more accidents.  During spring break, the age involved in the most accidents revolves around the late teens and early twenties.