The National Safety Council estimates that more than 500 people could die in preventable traffic accidents over this Thanksgiving holiday.
Thanksgiving may be the deadliest holiday to hit the road, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Between 2017 and 2021 – the most recent five years of data available – there were 2,456 people killed in motor vehicle crashes over the Thanksgiving period, defined as between 6 p.m. the Wednesday before the holiday until 6 a.m. the following Monday. This surpasses the number of deaths associated with the periods around Labor Day (2,351), the Fourth of July (2,345), Memorial Day (2,191) and Christmas (1,680).
More than 32,000 lives in total were lost to motor vehicle crashes in the months of November through December across those five years, a rate of about 1.2 fatal crashes per 100 million miles driven.
Despite winter weather concerns, many Northern states may actually be the safest for holiday drivers, as they have a lower rate of fatal crashes based on a U.S. News analysis of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Massachusetts is the least deadly state to drive in November and December, with 0.61 crash fatalities per 100 million miles driven in the state between 2017 and 2021, followed by Minnesota (0.66) and Utah (0.73). By this measure, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Connecticut were also among the top 10 safest states.
Meanwhile, several states across the Southeast are among the most dangerous for holiday driving. South Carolina was the deadliest state to drive in November and December, with more than 1.9 crash fatalities per 100 million miles driven in those months between 2017 and 2021. Mississippi, Louisiana, Montana and Florida complete the top 5 most dangerous list by this metric.
Men were much more likely than women to be killed in a motor vehicle accident in the last two months of the year over these time frames. Nearly 70% of the crash fatalities were men, accounting for nearly 22,500 of the deaths. Men saw the highest number of deaths from ages 18 to the mid-30s, and men in their late 50s also saw higher tallies.
More than 1 in 4 deaths in the last two months of the year involved speeding, according to the five years of data, and nearly 8% had a distracted driver involved. Approximately 1 in 3 deaths were caused when adverse weather conditions such as snow, rain or fog were present – at least among cases where atmospheric conditions were reported.
Drunk drivers are also a notable danger over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, with the Wednesday preceding the holiday known as “Drinksgiving” or “Blackout Wednesday” in some circles. Over the Thanksgiving weekends between 2017 and 2021, more than 830 people died in crashes involving a drunk driver, and drunk drivers died in 137 of those.
The National Safety Council estimates that more than 500 people could die in preventable traffic accidents over this Thanksgiving holiday. Drivers are advised to take caution when driving in the dark, not to drive while distracted or impaired, and to be aware of weather conditions before hitting the road this holiday season.
The number of deaths in motor vehicle crashes per 100,000 people is one of the 89 metrics that drive the Healthiest Communities rankings, which assess how nearly 3,000 U.S. counties and county equivalents perform across the United States.
These are the 10 most dangerous states for driving during the holidays, according to a U.S. News analysis of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
- 1. South Carolina
- 2. Mississippi
- 3. Louisiana
- 4. Montana
- 5. Florida
- 6. Oregon
- 7. New Mexico
- 8. Oklahoma
- 9. Arkansas
- 10. Arizona
