Throughout Virginia and surrounding regions, everyone is gearing up for Oktoberfest, homecoming and apple butter festivals. Perhaps, you will be manning a booth to earn supplemental income from your own handcrafted wares. Beautiful foliage, scents of hot cider and cocoa, and crisp temperatures that prompt you to take your favorite sweaters out of the closet might make you eager to check out your local fall festival schedule.
As with most public events, there are definite downsides to such gatherings. In fact, just walking around at a festival can be hazardous as trip and fall accidents are common at such venues. Alcohol is also available at many fall festivals and concerts, which means there will likely be an increase of drunk driving accidents in those areas. If you plan to venture out with your family or friends, it’s important to know where to seek support if a problem arises.
Think ahead and stay safe
Especially if you have children in tow, there are several things to keep in mind when your goal is to improve fall festival safety. The following list includes helpful tips:
It’s easy to become separated from loved ones in a large crowd. This is why you should write down your cell phone number on a slip of paper or wristband that your kids can carry with them at all times.
In addition to watching where you are going, it’s a good idea to scan the area and make sure property owners have done their job to keep walkways free of potential safety hazards, such as electrical cords, litter and other objects.
Drinking plenty of water helps to avoid dehydration, but it’s also a good idea to eat a sufficient amount if you plan on imbibing a German-style beer or other alcoholic beverage.
Keeping your eyes and ears open is the first logical step to take when navigating crossroads or parking lots.
No matter how cautious and alert you and your family or friends are, there’s not much you can do about another person’s choices or actions. If someone drinks too much and gets behind the wheel of a car to drive, your festival fun might come to an abrupt halt if you’re involved in a collision and suffer injury.
Post-festival injury care
In addition to ruining a perfectly pleasant day out, another person’s negligence could cause you to have to take time off work to recover from injury. This type of situation often prompts serious financial distress.
Virginia law states that recovering accident victims may seek financial accountability against those whose negligence was a causal factor toward their injuries. When the court awards compensation for damages, recovering accident victims can use such monies to pay medical bills and offset other expenses associated with a particular fall festival incident.