In the past, about 45 percent of all fatalities during the Christmas and New Year holiday periods, on an average, have occurred in crashes where at least one of the involved drivers was impaired as compared to about 30 percent of all fatalities during the rest of December. This year, NHTSA’s projections show that an estimated total of 410 persons will be fatally injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes during each of the three-day Christmas Holiday and New Year Holiday Periods. If the trend continues, about 185 persons will be killed in crashes involving an impaired driver during each of the two holiday periods. This Crash•Stats presents data that highlights the higher rate of involvement of impaired drivers in fatal crashes during the two holiday periods in December and compares the trend with the rate of involvement during the rest of the days in December. The number of such fatalities per day (fatalities averaged over the number of days in the holiday) during the two holiday periods is higher as compared to fatalities per day during the rest of December. (Author/publisher)
Abstract