The Fourth of July is the most dangerous day to drive in the United States, according to a new study.
The study, conducted by Geotab, a telematics and GPS vehicle-tracking company, analyzed fatality and traffic data over a 10-year period to see how U.S. states differ when it comes to road safety.
Every year, more than 30,000 people are killed on the roads in the United States, but recent findings have shown that specific days of the year, and even certain states, are more dangerous than others. Dates around national celebrations including Labor Day, Halloween and New Year’s Day – when alcohol consumption is at its highest – have significantly higher fatal crash rates than other days in the year.
With an average of 119 deadly crashes over a 10-year period and a fatal crash rate of 14.9, July Fourth is the most dangerous day to drive in the United States. Independence Day also has the highest percentage of fatal crashes involving alcohol or incidents of driving under the influence, with an average of 47 percent.
On average, 28 percent of all road crashes are related to alcohol and driving under the influence, but that rate goes up significantly around national holidays. New Year’s Day (41.6 percent) and Halloween (41 percent), which also are in the top 10 most dangerous days to drive, have a high percentage of alcohol-related fatalities, each recording an FCR of 13.6.
“The future of connected-vehicle data will enable Geotab to produce more services to help improve road safety and vehicle operating efficiency,” said Colin Sutherland, executive vice president of Oakville, Ontario-based Geotab. “Access to vehicle data is key to our capability to contribute our open platform that will further enhance research in connected vehicles.”
