According to recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 29.8% of all fatal car accidents from 2018 to 2022 involved a drunk driver. But on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and the period between Christmas and New Year’s Day, 37.4% of fatal crashes involved drunk drivers.
Methodology: How we got the data on this page
We found the number of fatal crashes that happened over five holiday periods by analyzing accident data from the Fatality and Injury Reporting System (FARS), which is maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
These holiday periods cover five federal holidays from 2018 to 2022 — which includes the most recent available data — Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and the period from Christmas to New Years Day.
FARS assigns a different number of days to these periods depending on where in the week they fall each year. Thanksgiving covers 4.5 days. Labor Day covers 3.5 days, and the Fourth of July and the period between Christmas to New Year’s Day vary.
How many crashes during the holidays involve drunk driving?
From 2018 to 2022 there were 3,722 fatal car crashes during holidays that involved a drunk driver.
That’s about 37.4% of all of the fatal car accidents that happened during the holidays (10,083), which is higher than the percentage of fatal crashes involving a drunk driver during non-holiday times (29.4%).
Labor Day was the holiday with the highest number of drunk-driving-involved fatal accidents during that period, with 865, while the holiday with the highest percentage of fatal crashes involving drunk driving was Memorial Day (39.6%).
Fatal crashes involving drunk driving | Total number of fatal crashes | |
|---|---|---|
Labor Day | 865 | 2,244 |
Memorial Day | 815 | 2,058 |
Fourth of July | 803 | 2,043 |
Thanksgiving | 748 | 2,231 |
Christmas | 541 | 1,507 |
Total | 3,722 | 10,083 |
Fatal alcohol-related accidents during the holidays vs. other times of the year
About 6.9% of all fatal car crashes involving a drunk driver take place during holiday periods. We found that Texas had the highest number of fatal car accidents during the holidays of any state (475 from 2018 to 2022).
In Delaware, 10.8% of all fatal alcohol-related crashes occurred during holidays, the highest share of any state.
Fatal crashes involving a drunk driver over a holiday | Percent of fatal crashes involving a drunk driver that happened over a holiday | |
|---|---|---|
Texas | 475 | 6.5% |
California | 396 | 7.1% |
Florida | 274 | 6.8% |
Georgia | 139 | 7.2% |
North Carolina | 138 | 6.9% |
Ohio | 119 | 6.1% |
South Carolina | 119 | 7.4% |
Illinois | 119 | 6.8% |
New York | 112 | 7.4% |
Michigan | 111 | 8.1% |
Tennessee | 90 | 6.2% |
Pennsylvania | 90 | 6.0% |
Virginia | 90 | 7.1% |
Arizona | 89 | 5.7% |
Louisiana | 87 | 7.8% |
Alabama | 84 | 7.1% |
Missouri | 84 | 6.7% |
Wisconsin | 75 | 8.5% |
Indiana | 74 | 6.9% |
Colorado | 66 | 7.1% |
Maryland | 66 | 8.2% |
New Jersey | 65 | 9.3% |
Washington | 60 | 6.0% |
Oklahoma | 59 | 7.5% |
Oregon | 58 | 6.6% |
Kentucky | 57 | 7.5% |
Arkansas | 54 | 7.6% |
Mississippi | 48 | 6.7% |
New Mexico | 46 | 7.8% |
Connecticut | 45 | 8.4% |
Iowa | 44 | 8.9% |
Minnesota | 37 | 7.1% |
Nevada | 34 | 7.0% |
Kansas | 32 | 7.5% |
Montana | 32 | 8.5% |
Massachusetts | 28 | 4.9% |
West Virginia | 23 | 7.7% |
Nebraska | 21 | 7.2% |
Idaho | 20 | 6.7% |
Delaware | 17 | 10.8% |
New Hampshire | 16 | 8.3% |
South Dakota | 16 | 8.4% |
Utah | 13 | 4.7% |
Hawaii | 12 | 7.7% |
Maine | 12 | 5.2% |
North Dakota | 10 | 6.4% |
Wyoming | 7 | 4.1% |
Rhode Island | 5 | 4.4% |
Vermont | 5 | 6.0% |
District of Columbia | 4 | 9.1% |
Alaska | 4 | 4.4% |
How many holiday drunk-driving accidents involve young drivers?
From 2018 to 2022 a total of 421 young drivers (ages 15 to 20) were involved in fatal alcohol-related crashes during holidays.
Labor Day (93 fatal crashes involving drunk driving) and the Fourth of July (91) were the most dangerous holidays for young drivers, followed by Thanksgiving (89), Memorial Day (85), and Christmas to New Year’s Day (63).
Texas had the highest number of these accidents by far (73), about 15.4% of all fatal, alcohol-related crashes during holidays.
Fatal alcohol-related fatal crashes during the holidays involving a young driver (15-20) | |
|---|---|
Texas | 73 |
California | 35 |
Florida | 30 |
Georgia | 15 |
Michigan | 15 |
Ohio | 14 |
New York | 14 |
Tennessee | 13 |
Pennsylvania | 13 |
Arizona | 13 |
South Carolina | 12 |
Illinois | 12 |
Indiana | 12 |
Colorado | 12 |
North Carolina | 10 |
Alabama | 10 |
Virginia | 9 |
New Jersey | 9 |
Washington | 9 |
Louisiana | 7 |
Oklahoma | 7 |
Mississippi | 7 |
Kansas | 7 |
Oregon | 6 |
New Mexico | 6 |
Iowa | 6 |
Kentucky | 5 |
Connecticut | 5 |
Maryland | 4 |
Idaho | 4 |
Missouri | 3 |
Wisconsin | 3 |
Arkansas | 3 |
Minnesota | 3 |
Nevada | 3 |
New Hampshire | 3 |
Montana | 2 |
Massachusetts | 2 |
Nebraska | 2 |
Delaware | 2 |
Utah | 2 |
Hawaii | 2 |
West Virginia | 1 |
South Dakota | 1 |
Wyoming | 1 |
Rhode Island | 1 |
District of Columbia | 1 |
Alaska | 1 |
Maine | 0 |
North Dakota | 0 |
Vermont | 0 |
Number of deaths from car crashes involving alcohol during the holidays
Across all U.S. states, there were 4,214 deaths during the holidays in fatal crashes involving a drunk driver, 38% of all car accident fatalities that happened during the holidays.
The highest number of car accident deaths involving alcohol occurred over Labor Day (959), followed by Memorial Day (921), Fourth of July (896), Thanksgiving (833), and Christmas (605).
Texas had the most deaths from fatal crashes involving drunk drivers (532). Alcohol was most frequently a factor in fatal holiday crashes in Wisconsin, where 52% of car crash fatalities during the holidays involved a drunk driver.
Deaths in fatal crashes involving alcohol over the holidays | |
|---|---|
Texas | 532 |
California | 444 |
Florida | 326 |
Georgia | 159 |
North Carolina | 149 |
Ohio | 134 |
Illinois | 131 |
South Carolina | 130 |
New York | 121 |
Michigan | 120 |
Pennsylvania | 100 |
Arizona | 99 |
Tennessee | 98 |
Virginia | 98 |
Louisiana | 96 |
Alabama | 91 |
Missouri | 88 |
Indiana | 83 |
Wisconsin | 81 |
New Jersey | 76 |
Colorado | 74 |
Oklahoma | 72 |
Maryland | 68 |
Oregon | 64 |
Washington | 63 |
Kentucky | 62 |
Mississippi | 57 |
Arkansas | 56 |
Connecticut | 55 |
New Mexico | 54 |
Iowa | 53 |
Minnesota | 38 |
Nevada | 38 |
Montana | 37 |
Kansas | 33 |
Massachusetts | 29 |
West Virginia | 27 |
Nebraska | 26 |
Idaho | 24 |
South Dakota | 22 |
Delaware | 20 |
New Hampshire | 19 |
Maine | 15 |
Utah | 13 |
Hawaii | 12 |
North Dakota | 12 |
Wyoming | 8 |
Rhode Island | 5 |
Vermont | 5 |
Alaska | 4 |
District of Columbia | 4 |
How drunk driving during the holidays compares to other driving dangers
Drunk driving is present in 37.4% of fatal crashes during the holidays, which is higher than the percentage of car accidents where speeding is present, and a lot higher than those involving drowsy driving.
Here’s how often drunk drivers, speeding, or drowsy driving played a part in fatal car crashes broken down by holiday.
Percent of accidents involving a drunk driver | Percent of accidents involving speeding | Percent of accidents involving drowsy driving | |
|---|---|---|---|
Memorial Day | 39.6% | 31.5% | 7.6% |
Fourth of July | 39.3% | 29.7% | 8.1% |
Labor Day | 38.5% | 31.2% | 7.2% |
Christmas and New Year’s | 35.9% | 29.5% | 6.2% |
Thanksgiving | 33.5% | 28.5% | 6.7% |
Does getting a DUI affect your car insurance?
Yes, if you get cited for a DUI, DWI, or another moving violation involving alcohol or drugs, you may not be able to renew your auto insurance policy. Your car insurance rates will also go up, possibly by thousands of dollars a year.
If you drive drunk and get in an accident, your car insurance will cover any damage you cause to other cars. If you have full coverage, damage to your own car will be covered too, but car insurance won’t cover some of the other repercussions of a DUI, like a mandatory fine. Your car insurance company may also decline to renew your policy after a DUI, and you may need to shop around for expensive, high-risk car insurance.
