Drew Dixon
While Thanksgiving Day is one of the most cherished holidays for gathering with family, it’s also one of the most deadly holidays for road travel.
Zutobi.com, a website that assists people in obtaining their driver’s licenses and matching up people with driving schools, analyzed the most dangerous holidays in America. Thanksgiving is America’s second most dangerous holiday, coming behind only Labor Day, the most lethal holiday in the country. Zutobi analysts used the U.S. Department of Transportation Fatality and Injury Reporting System (FIRST) to compile the list. They found Labor Day the only national holiday more dangerous than Thanksgiving.
“Over the past five years, 2,440 lives were lost during the Thanksgiving holiday. In 2022, there were 528 fatalities, a slight decrease compared to the previous year’s 531,” Zutobi researchers concluded. “Specific incidents during Thanksgiving in 2022 revealed that 184 lives were lost due to driving under the influence (34.8%), while 156 lives were claimed by speeding (29.5%). Additionally, 62 fatalities involved young drivers.”
Vehicle preparation can help reduce the likelihood of an accident during Thanksgiving Day travel. Zutobi researchers advise motorists to prepare vehicles before hitting the road by checking tire pressure, breaks and fluid levels. Drivers should minimize distractions once behind the wheel by avoiding texting or eating while driving and having plenty of rest before making long drives while fatigued.
Labor Day totaled 2,455 fatalities in the five years between 2017 and 2022, making it the most dangerous holiday on American roads.
Memorial Day came in third for the most dangerous holiday in the United States. The weekend marking the unofficial beginning of Summer witnessed 2,291 fatalities over the five years of the study.
The Fourth of July was ranked the fourth most lethal holiday in America, with 2,228 fatalities on the nation’s roadways.
Christmas was the only other traditional holiday season special day to make the top five list. It came in fifth with 1,644 fatalities on the nation’s roadways in the five-year stretch analyzed for the study.
