4th of July Named Deadliest Day for Driving by IIHS
Defensive driving will be more important this Friday than any other day of the year.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Fourth of July will once again be the most dangerous day to drive of the entire year. The institute analyzed crash data collected from the U.S. government’s federal crash database. That information, which includes crash information from 2008 through 2012, shows that more people die in automobile accidents on the Fourth of July than any other day of the year.
“The July 4th holiday puts a lot of drivers on the road, increasing the likelihood of serious crashes. In addition, there’s more risky driving. With holiday celebrations like barbecues and fireworks displays, drinking is sometimes involved. A higher proportion of highway deaths on July 4th involve alcohol than on a typical summer day,” IIHS spokesman Russ Rader wrote in an e-mail.
Averaged over the course of those years, the data shows that over 127 people are killed on the holiday compared to an average of 122.4 on the next worst day: January 1. In total from 2008 through 2012, 637 people have died while driving on July 4.
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
More by Luke Vandezande
Comments
Join the conversation