Holidays – Auto Accidents and Drunk Driving Crash Statistics

Holidays are some of the most deadly and dangerous times to drive. Many more people are driving on the road to visit family and attend parties, and drunk driving accidents increase.

The following include both national and Pennsylvania statistics for accidents during holiday periods and holiday accidents involving alcohol.

Pennsylvania Car Accident Statistics – 2011 Holiday Statistics

Total Pennsylvania Holiday Crashes

Holiday	Crashes	Deaths
New Year’s	486	8
Post-New Year’s	1750	5
Pre-Memorial Day	1073	14
Memorial Day	948	20
Post-Memorial Day	1032	13
Pre-Independence Day	989	13
Independence Day	891	14
Post-Independence Day	980	23
Pre-Labor Day	1019	10
Labor Day	1046	17
Post-Labor Day	922	11
Pre-Thanksgiving	1484	13
Thanksgiving	1232	19
Post-Thanksgiving	1487	17
Pre-Christmas	1388	14
Christmas	825	7

Pennsylvania Alcohol-Related Crashes

In 2011, 13 percent of all holiday accidents involved alcohol. 41 percent of deaths that occurred during holiday weekends were related to alcohol use.

Holiday	Crashes	Deaths
New Year’s	112	7
Post-New Year’s	142	2
Pre-Memorial Day	112	3
Memorial Day	143	10
Post-Memorial Day	130	5
Pre-Independence Day	141	3
Independence Day	146	6
Post-Independence Day	120	6
Pre-Labor Day	119	5
Labor Day	188	8
Post-Labor Day	134	5
Pre-Thanksgiving	158	7
Thanksgiving	180	8
Post-Thanksgiving	181	7
Pre-Christmas	162	6
Christmas	126	2

National Car Accident Statistics (2009) – Holidays

Persons Killed and Percent Alcohol-Impaired During Holidays

New Year’s Day

Year	Number of People Killed	Percent Alcohol-Impaired Driving
2005	472	38
2006	456	42
2007	391	40
2008	424	41
2009	468	40

Memorial Day

Year	Number of People Killed	Percent Alcohol-Impaired Driving
2005	532	39
2006	511	40
2007	492	37
2008	425	41
2009	473	42

Fourth of July

Year	Number of People Killed	Percent Alcohol-Impaired Driving
2005	591	44
2006	659	37
2007	202	45
2008	494	44
2009	410	40

Labor Day

Year	Number of People Killed	Percent Alcohol-Impaired Driving
2005	507	40
2006	508	37
2007	520	42
2008	493	40
2009	360	38

Thanksgiving

Year	Number of People Killed	Percent Alcohol-Impaired Driving
2005	629	37
2006	635	34
2007	553	35
2008	507	35
2009	411	34

Christmas

Year	Number of People Killed	Percent Alcohol-Impaired Driving
2005	402	40
2006	395	42
2007	478	38
2008	426	32
2009	262	37

Pennsylvania Car Accident Statistics – 2010 Holiday Statistics

Total Pennsylvania Holiday Crashes

Holiday	Crashes	Deaths
New Year’s	974	6
Post-New Year’s	1096	11
Pre-Memorial Day	1027	8
Memorial Day	962	17
Post-Memorial Day	997	7
Pre-Independence Day	919	19
Independence Day	995	18
Post-Independence Day	1137	13
Pre-Labor Day	1046	23
Labor Day	955	11
Post-Labor Day	1012	17
Pre-Thanksgiving	1425	19
Thanksgiving	1389	24
Post-Thanksgiving	1538	12
Pre-Christmas	1235	20
Christmas	1149	8

Pennsylvania Alcohol-Related Crashes

In 2010, about 14 percent of all holiday accidents involved alcohol. More than half (51 percent) of deaths that occurred during holiday weekends were related to alcohol use.

Holiday	Crashes	Deaths
New Year’s	172	3
Post-New Year’s	149	6
Pre-Memorial Day	156	2
Memorial Day	158	11
Post-Memorial Day	125	1
Pre-Independence Day	128	11
Independence Day	161	9
Post-Independence Day	127	9
Pre-Labor Day	137	7
Labor Day	170	5
Post-Labor Day	153	11
Pre-Thanksgiving	180	12
Thanksgiving	189	13
Post-Thanksgiving	166	5
Pre-Christmas	195	10
Christmas	134	3

Pennsylvania Car Accidents – Labor Day 2011

Nine people died in Pennsylvania during the Labor Day weekend in 2011.
Five accidents were fatal.
There were 783 crashes, of which 80 were related to alcohol use.
More than 350 (351) were injured.
Police arrested 483 people for drunk driving.
There were more crashes and injuries than in 2010, and the same number of people died.

2010 Pennsylvania Accident Statistics – Thanksgiving and Christmas

In 2010, 55 people died in car accidents in Pennsylvania during the weekends before and after Thanksgiving. This time period had the highest rate of crashes throughout the year.
Of the crashes that occurred during the weekends before and after Thanksgiving, 535 accidents involved alcohol.
The number of alcohol-related crashes surrounding Thanksgiving accounted for 22 percent of the total number of crashes involving alcohol in 2010.
There were 2,035 crashes and 19 deaths in 2010 during the Christmas and New Year’s travel periods.

Looking for more statistics? View our accident statistics page.