Voting is your civic duty, but be careful how you get to the polls. A study in the US suggests that there is an increased risk of car crashes on voting days, research revealed an 18 percent increase in motor vehicle deaths on voting day. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (ANI)

Reasons for the increased risk included speed, distance, distraction, emotions, unfamiliar roads travelling to polls, and the potential mobilization of unfit drivers.

The rush to get to the polls may effect road safety on voting day, drivers hurrying to fit voting into a busy schedule may cause drivers to be careless, so the advise is to put road safety your No 1 on polling day and give it your first preference.

It may just be that emotions run high on voting day, Road safety Officer Noel Gibbons said. "There's an election going on - everybody's talking about it, glued to the car radio, paying attention to polls when maybe they should be paying more attention to driving."

Research has already shown speeding significantly increases the risk of car collisions and deaths, so drivers are asked to give themselves plenty of time to get to the polling stations. Motorists are also advised to look out for other road users who may be making their way to the polling stations on foot or on bike who are also reminded to make themselves visible to motorists by wearing Hi Visibility clothing and using lights, as the polling stations remain open into the late evening.

Good advice would be to avoid excess speed and other distractions as well as to ensure seatbelt use, also parking your car in a safe manner outside polling stations.