Memorial Day weekend is one of the best weekends of the year in Missouri. Families head to Table Rock and the Lake of the Ozarks, neighborhoods fire up the grills, and the stretch of summer everyone has been waiting for finally arrives. It is also, unfortunately, one of the most dangerous weekends to be on the road. The combination of holiday traffic, alcohol, and drivers glued to their phones turns I-44 through Joplin, I-70 through Columbia, and just about every two-lane highway in between into high-risk territory from Friday afternoon through Monday night.
If you are unlucky enough to be hit by an impaired or distracted driver this weekend, what you do in the first hours and days matters a great deal. Insurance companies move fast, evidence disappears quickly, and the choices you make at the scene can shape the outcome of your claim months later.
Why Holiday Weekends Are Different
The Missouri State Highway Patrol consistently reports a spike in serious injury and fatal crashes during the long Memorial Day counting period. Part of this is simple volume. More cars on the road means more opportunities for collisions. But the bigger factor is driver behavior. Cookouts and lake trips mean alcohol, and a quick check of a phone at 70 miles per hour on I-44 can close a four-second gap with the car ahead before a driver even looks up.
Drunk and distracted drivers also tend to cause more severe wrecks. Impaired reaction time means little or no braking before impact, which translates to higher speeds, more vehicle damage, and worse injuries for the people they hit.
What to Do at the Scene
If you can do so safely, get out of traffic and call 911. A police report is one of the single most important pieces of evidence in a claim involving a drunk or distracted driver, and the responding officer is the person who will document field sobriety tests, breathalyzer results, or admissions about phone use.
While you wait, take photos of everything. Both vehicles, the road, skid marks, debris fields, traffic signals, and any visible injuries. If there are witnesses, ask for their names and phone numbers before they leave the scene. Witnesses often vanish, and tracking them down later is one of the harder parts of building a case.
Get checked out by a doctor, even if you feel okay. Adrenaline masks injuries, and serious problems like concussions, soft tissue damage, and internal bleeding often do not show symptoms for hours or even days. A medical record created on the day of the accident is far more persuasive than one created a week later.
Be Careful What You Say
The other driver’s insurance company will likely call within 24 to 48 hours and ask for a recorded statement. You are not required to give one, and you should not until you have spoken with an attorney. Adjusters are trained to ask questions in ways that minimize their company’s liability, and a single offhand comment can be used to reduce or deny your claim. The same goes for social media. Do not post about the accident, your injuries, or your weekend plans while a claim is pending.
How a Drunk or Distracted Driver Claim Differs
Cases involving impaired or distracted drivers often have stronger evidence of fault than a typical fender bender, and Missouri law allows for the possibility of punitive damages when a driver’s conduct shows reckless disregard for the safety of others. That can meaningfully change the value of a claim, but only if the evidence is preserved and presented properly. Cell phone records, bar receipts, dashcam footage from nearby vehicles, and chemical test results all have to be requested and protected before they get deleted or overwritten.
With more than 45 years of experience and over $150 million in settlements and judgments, Sticklen & Sticklen has handled these cases up and down I-44 and I-70 and on the back roads of Boone and Jasper Counties. If you or someone you love is hit this Memorial Day weekend, call ourJoplin office at (417) 626-9880 or ourColumbia office at (573) 303-3848. Consultations are free, and the sooner we start working, the more we can do to protect your case.
Have a safe weekend out there.