New Year’s Eve is widely considered one of the heaviest drinking holidays in the United States. While more and more Americans are choosing to ring in the New Year at home, millions of people still celebrate by going out to bars and clubs or attending holiday events.
At Cannon & Dunphy S.C., our Milwaukee auto accident attorneys are concerned about road safety, especially during the holidays. We wanted to find out when and where the most fatal crashes occur during the New Year Holiday. So, we worked with data visualization and consumer safety advocacy firm, Safer America, to analyze five years of NHTSA fatal crash data.
We isolated all deadly crashes that occurred on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day from 2013 (New Year’s Eve 2013 / New Years Day 2014) to 2018 (New Year’s Eve 2017 / New Years Day 2018).
During our study period, we found that over 1,000 people were killed in fatal collisions across the United States on New Year’s Eve or Day. In fact, there were:
- 916 total fatal crashes
- 1,004 fatalities
- 341 fatal crashes involving drunk drivers
- 377 people killed in drunk driving crashes
Which states had the most fatal crashes? Raw totals don’t tell the whole story, so we calculated a crash rate based on the number of licensed drivers in each state.
In terms of total crashes, Texas (188), Florida (167) and California (154) had by far the highest number. However, these three states are also the states with the highest population. When looking at fatal crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers, the safest and most dangerous states were much different.
The five states with the highest crash rates (most dangerous states) were:
- Mississippi
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Wyoming
- Texas
The five states with the lowest crash rates (safest states) were:
- North Dakota
- Delaware
- Rhode Island
- Minnesota
- Vermont
Five Years of Fatal Crashes On New Years Eve and New Years Day
*Crash rates are expressed per 100,000 licensed drivers in each state.
| Rank | State | Fatal Crashes | Fatalities | Drunk Driver Crashes | Drunk Driver Fatalities | Crashes Per 100k Licensed Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi | 29 | 33 | 8 | 8 | 1.44 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 33 | 35 | 12 | 14 | 1.32 |
| 3 | South Carolina | 47 | 50 | 18 | 19 | 1.25 |
| 4 | Wyoming | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1.19 |
| 5 | Texas | 188 | 210 | 62 | 66 | 1.18 |
| 6 | Florida | 167 | 178 | 37 | 39 | 1.14 |
| 7 | Louisiana | 36 | 43 | 21 | 25 | 1.06 |
| 8 | West Virginia | 12 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 1.04 |
| 9 | New Mexico | 15 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 0.99 |
| 10 | Alabama | 38 | 44 | 12 | 15 | 0.96 |
| 11 | Kentucky | 28 | 32 | 10 | 12 | 0.92 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 48 | 54 | 13 | 15 | 0.92 |
| 13 | Arizona | 42 | 43 | 11 | 11 | 0.83 |
| 14 | Missouri | 35 | 38 | 16 | 19 | 0.82 |
| 15 | South Dakota | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0.80 |
| 16 | North Carolina | 57 | 61 | 15 | 16 | 0.78 |
| 17 | Maine | 8 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0.78 |
| 18 | Georgia | 54 | 63 | 18 | 22 | 0.77 |
| 19 | Oregon | 22 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 0.77 |
| 20 | Hawaii | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0.75 |
| 21 | Alaska | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.75 |
| 22 | Virginia | 41 | 41 | 13 | 13 | 0.69 |
| 23 | Kansas | 13 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 0.64 |
| 24 | Indiana | 29 | 31 | 9 | 9 | 0.64 |
| 25 | Michigan | 45 | 53 | 17 | 20 | 0.64 |
| 26 | Connecticut | 16 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 0.61 |
| 27 | California | 154 | 167 | 35 | 38 | 0.59 |
| 28 | Wisconsin | 23 | 27 | 15 | 19 | 0.55 |
| 29 | Iowa | 12 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 0.53 |
| 30 | Nevada | 10 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 0.53 |
| 31 | Illinois | 45 | 50 | 18 | 21 | 0.53 |
| 32 | Colorado | 21 | 24 | 6 | 7 | 0.52 |
| 33 | Utah | 10 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0.51 |
| 34 | Montana | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0.50 |
| 35 | Washington | 28 | 32 | 12 | 14 | 0.50 |
| 36 | Pennsylvania | 43 | 46 | 10 | 10 | 0.48 |
| 37 | Ohio | 37 | 41 | 18 | 22 | 0.46 |
| 38 | Idaho | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 0.43 |
| 39 | Nebraska | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0.43 |
| 40 | Maryland | 18 | 20 | 7 | 8 | 0.42 |
| 41 | New Jersey | 26 | 26 | 7 | 7 | 0.42 |
| 42 | New York | 49 | 51 | 13 | 13 | 0.41 |
| 43 | District Of Columbia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.41 |
| 44 | Massachusetts | 19 | 26 | 6 | 10 | 0.38 |
| 45 | Arkansas | 9 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0.38 |
| 46 | New Hampshire | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.36 |
| 47 | Vermont | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0.36 |
| 48 | Minnesota | 12 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0.36 |
| 49 | Rhode Island | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.27 |
| 50 | Delaware | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.26 |
| 51 | North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.18 |
Which Counties had the most fatal crashes?
At the county level, the top of the list is dominated by some of the largest counties in the United States. Interestingly, every county in the top ten was found in either California, Texas or Florida.
- Los Angeles, CA – 33 fatal crashes, 35 fatalities
- Harris County, TX – 26 fatal crashes, 30 fatalities
- Dallas County, TX – 20 fatal crashes
- Maricopa County, AZ – 18 fatal crashes, 18 fatalities
- San Diego County, CA – 17 fatal crashes, 18 fatalities
- San Bernardino County, CA – 14 fatal crashes, 20 fatalities
- Orange County, FL – 13 fatal crashes, 14 fatalities
- Miami-Dade County, FL – 13 fatal crashes, 13 fatalities
- Duval County, FL – 12 fatal crashes, 13 fatalities
- Broward County, FL – 12 fatal crashes, 12 fatalities
What Time of Day is the Most Dangerous on New Year’?
Without a doubt, the hours between 1 am and 3 am are the most dangerous during the New Year’s holiday. These hours were numbers 1 and 2 for total fatal crash and fatal crashes involving a drunk driver. Interestingly, fatal crashes drop significantly during the midnight to 1 am, as people everywhere likely stay where they are to count down.
Key Takeaways
It is clear that there is a significant fatal crash risk associated with the New Year’s holiday. So what can motorists and party-goers do to protect themselves?
- Most importantly, don’t drink and drive. If you are planning on consuming alcohol at a New Year’s celebration, designate a driver or get a sober ride home.
- Don’t drive between the hours of 1 and 3 am unless you absolutely have to. This is the peak time for fatal accidents and fatal alcohol-related accidents on New Year’s.
- Drive defensively whenever possible. Expect the unexpected and be ready to adjust accordingly.
- Inspect your vehicle. Before you get on the road, make sure that your tires are properly inflated (and have sufficient tread), fluids are not low and your car’s brakes are functioning properly.
- Don’t drive distracted. Distracted driving accidents can be fatal. Put the phone down, don’t get too involved in talking to passengers and keep your eyes on the road and arrive alive at your destination.
- Avoid speeding. Excessive speeding is a major factor in fatal crashes no matter what time of year it is, resulting in the wrongful death of a loved one.
The personal injury attorneys at Cannon & Dunphy, S.C. encourage everyone to celebrate and enjoy themselves ringing in the new year. We hope that seeing the numbers and understanding the risk helps people make the decision to celebrate safely.