Surprising Stats Regarding the Dangers of Drunk Driving at Halloween

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released 2015 holiday crash stastics revealing a surprising revelation.  Of eight holidays tracked, Halloween topped the list in 2015—ABOVE New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Day—with 90 drunk driving deaths.  Furthermore those 90 deaths accounted for 48% of all the traffic fatalities recorded during that time period.  This means that almost HALF of the traffic fatalities on Halloween in 2015 involved alcohol and could have prevented!

We know that when holidays fall on a weekend, drunk driving crashes tend to increase. That looks to be a contributing factor since Halloween 2015 fell on a Saturday. (Drunk driving crashes increased from 36% in 2014 to 48% in 2015.)

Holiday:  time period, #drunk driving deaths, % total traffic fatalities, #total traffic fatalities

• Halloween: 10/31/2015 – 5:59am 11/01/2015    90    48%    186
• Halloween: 10/31/2014 – 5:59am 11/01/2014    70    36%    192

However, regardless of the day of the week, the report points out the very real dangers of drinking and driving on Halloween or any day.  Halloween is a holiday commonly enjoyed by children and families who are out for trick-or-treating and fall festivals, as well as young people and adults attending Halloween parties and festivities.

PLEASE remember that if your celebration will include alcohol, plan ahead for a designated non-drinking driver; make arrangements to use a ride service such as Uber; or stay the night where you party.  For you, for your family, and for the countless innocent lives you may encounter on the roads, plan today so that no one experiences the terror of a drunk driving crash that you caused!