During the holiday season there is always an influx of hazardous driving on the roadways, and I don’t mean Santa and his sleigh.

While the Palo Alto Police Department is participating in a nationwide effort to prevent Driving Under the Influence occurrences (DUIs) issued during this December, there is another driving impairment that is also both dangerous and hazardous: Holiday Hostility.

After a altercation erupted at a Walmart store between two holiday shoppers the day after Thanksgiving, I began to realize that Holiday Hostility is much more severe than any of us realize. The two holiday brawlers certainly did not share in the holiday spirit while physically fighting, and I would not want to see them in the equally stressful situation of a traffic jam.

According to Times Staff Writer Valerie Reitman, the suicide and death rates rise significantly in the weeks leading up to and surrounding the holiday season, by about 12%. These feelings of depression and stress are clearly monumental, and while it is detrimental that people have these feelings, it is also potentially unsafe for other drivers, should they decide to drive while experiencing such intense emotions.

Suicides and department store fights are not the only causes of poor driving during the holiday season; the weather also plays an important factor in the creation of Holiday Hostility. Living in sunny California, we often forget that rain and cold are also weather conditions, and you can’t drive the same in a downpour as you can on a clear summer day. Colder weather certainly leads many people to be in a worse mood, which adds to Holiday Hostility, and is also it also carried onto the roads.

Whenever it rains for the first time in a while, people tend to forget that their stopping distance is much longer with wet brakes. This hazard contributes to more stress when commuters quickly learn that they can’t speed as much, nor stop as quickly on a wet day.

With so much added stress from driving the resulting Holiday Hostility, the actual holidays seem so much better because of all of the anticipation and hard feelings that have surrounded the wondrous time. After opening presents and enjoying a wonderful meal with your family, it is easy to forget that you were ever stressed before.

Unfortunately, this feeling has the potential of being short-lived. For unsatisfied present-receivers, the immediate post-holiday mission is to return the insufficient holiday gifts and grumble about how all of their friends got way cooler presents.

Discussions also usually begin to emerge between parents and their children about curfews on New Year’s Eve, which at least in my family certainly revisits the theme of Holiday Hostility.

This season, while experiencing Holiday Hostility try to remain safe and considerate on the roadways, and remember that in a couple of months the holidays will be long past– so try to enjoy them while you can.