Tailgating at the Buffalo Bills game, or other professional or college sporting event, is a favorite pastime for Buffalonians. While going tailgating before the game can be a lot of fun, it can also put you and your loved ones at risk of alcohol-related car accidents.

You need to be aware of some of the dangers associated with tailgating and make sure you have done what you can to avoid such risks.  You also need to be aware of driving risks when the game is over and everyone is leaving the stadium to head home.

Avoid These Car Accident Risks While Tailgating

While tailgating at Ralph Wilson Stadium and after the football game has come to an end, some of the different car accident risks to be concerned about include:

• The risk of a drunk driving accident. Tailgating happens in parking lots, and sometimes happens where people drive. Many tailgaters also get drunk. In fact, tailgaters are 14 times more likely than the average football game attendee to be so intoxicated as to be over the legal limit, according to ABC News. When you pull into the parking lot, set up your tailgating area, walk around the parking lot, or get ready  to leave the game, you need to be on the lookout for drunk drivers who may not be operating their vehicles safely.
• The risk of backover accidents. Backover collisions happen frequently in parking lots, and occur when a driver is leaving a parking space or backing in to a space and does not look behind to make sure there are no obstacles in his way. Kids and Cars reports 48 children are hospitalized and two kids die every single week in backover accidents, on average. While kids are at the greatest risk of backover accidents generally, anyone could be hit by a reversing car in a parking lot during or after a football game when there are so many cars around.
• The risk of a parking lot collision. State Farm claims data shows around 20 percent of accident claims occur because of crashes in parking lots, according to an Albany University study. Motorists in parking lots who are setting up their tailgating, who are parking for the game, or who are leaving the game may strike other vehicles or people.
• The risk of rear-end crashes. When leaving the stadium, there is often a lot of densely-packed traffic. Drivers who aren’t paying attention to the road may cause rear-end accidents if they don’t notice the car in front of them has stopped or has changed speeds.

Next time you tailgate or attend any football game, keep these risk factors in mind so you can be safer both before the game and after. If drivers know about the dangers of car accidents when attending football games, they can make smarter and more informed choices to keep themselves and others from harm.