Law firm’s study shows Halloween nearly as dangerous as traditional year-end holidays on roads

Halloween certainly is a frightful celebration, which is the point of the day. But motor vehicle accidents surrounding the tradition are really scary, and recent statistics show it’s getting more dangerous on the roadways as Halloween approaches.

Bader Scott, a personal injury law firm, recently completed a study on accidents on the roads on and surrounding Halloween, and the numbers are going up. Across the U.S., there are now 163.4 fatal accidents on Halloween and usually about 153 fatal accidents each day in the eight weeks surrounding the spooky day. That’s a 6.8% increase in deadly wrecks on Halloween compared to the period surrounding the holiday.

Brader Scott researchers compiled their results using data on fatal crashes obtained from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) from 2013 to 2022.

While most people consider traditional holidays near the end of the year to present dangerous hazards on roadways, Seth Bader, founder of Bader Scott, said many underestimate the deadly challenges of Halloween.

“Holidays are always a time to celebrate, with people keen to spend their free time with family and friends. However, holidays can also bring increased risks on the road, with people rushing to keep to their holiday plans or driving in unfamiliar locations if they are visiting loved ones,” Bader said.

“Some holidays see an increase in pedestrian traffic, which gives drivers more to be aware of. This is especially so for Halloween, where there will always be excited children in dark clothing trick or treating. At times like these, it always pays to be cautious while driving. Also, plan to have a designated driver or another way of not driving if your party plans to drink,” he added.

Alaska was the top state in the country with the change of fatal accidents from the eight weeks surrounding Halloween to the traditional day itself, going from 0.3 to 0.7, a 195.2% increase. Rhode Island was second, and Maine was third.

Florida was ranked 13th in the nation regarding that ratio of change. But the raw numbers were more stark than the actual percentages. Florida had 12.8 wrecks involving fatalities in the eight weeks surrounding Halloween. But that number jumped to 15.8 on the day Halloween is celebrated on Oct. 31, a 25.1% increase. No other state ranked higher on the list had more significant raw numbers, and no other state with a higher ranking had more than 10 fatalities in accidents either in the eight weeks surrounding Halloween or on the day itself. Florida had the most number of people die in auto accidents on Halloween than any other state.