I was making New Year’s Eve plans with friends and one of them remarked “I don’t go out that night. Too many crazies and drunk drivers.”. So I thought that it would research whether New Year’s Eve is truly an unsafe day for driving and what other days are particularly dangerous.
It turn’s out that New Year’s Eve is not the worst day on which to drive. Rather New Year’s Day, after revelers have had plenty of time to drink and celebrate, is a much more dangerous day on which to be on the road. However, New Year’s Day surprisingly is not the most dangerous day of the year. Below is the list of five most dangerous driving days.
- July 4th – Independence Day
- Memorial Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Labor Day
- New Year’s Day
According to the National Safety Council (“NSC”), the Fourth of July was the most dangerous holiday for travelers in 2013 with 540 deaths and nearly 58,000 serious injuries. Alcohol was a big factor in this startling numbers. Memorial Day came in second based on 2013 statistics, with the Monday of the four-day weekend having 32% more fatalities than the preceding three days, according to a study on holiday fatalities by Arnold and Cerrelli. The NSC estimates that, in 2o13, there were 436 driving-related deaths on Thanksgiving Day and 400 on Labor Day. New Year’s came in fifth but here was a higher incident of alcohol-related accidents on this holiday.
Bottom line: While it is still more dangerous than usual, New Year’s Eve and Day are not the most dangerous days of the years. Nevertheless, as always, you need to be particularly vigilant when you are behind the wheel during any of these days.
