Holidays dominate the list of days when the most motor vehicle crash deaths occur. In the USA, Independence Day (July 4th) has the most crash deaths, followed by July 3rd. Data on fatal crashes during 1986-2002 gathered by the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System were analysed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The data were sorted by month, day and hour. August was the month with the most crash deaths and Sunday was the day with the most crash deaths. More deaths occurred during the afternoon and evening. There was an average of 117 deaths per day. About three of four motor vehicle crash fatalities were occupants of passenger vehicles, 13% were pedestrians, and 7% were motorcyclists. Alcohol was a factor in a greater proportion of crash deaths on July 4th and New Years Day.
Abstract