National data shows that holidays tend to be deadly times to be on the roads. That’s no surprise, given the number of people who travel to see family and friends and the amount of drinking and driving that goes on during some holidays. However, some of the days with the most fatal accidents are not what you might expect.
Autoinsurance.org, an insurance industry research provider, found that these were the five deadliest holidays over a three-year study period:
Memorial Day — 448 fatal auto accidents per year
Labor Day — 445 deadly crashes each year
Independence Day — 440 fatal accidents per year
Father’s Day — 431 deadly wrecks each year
Cinco de Mayo — 419 driving fatalities per year
Christmas was the safest of the holidays studied, tallying 325 roadway deaths per year. While people certainly drink on Christmas, the researchers theorized that a lot of the drinking takes place in people’s homes, with families preferring to stay in rather than go out to bars, many of which are closed for the holiday.
Holidays aren’t the only treacherous times to be on the road. Saturdays are the deadliest day of the week to drive, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). Contributing factors include alcohol, speeding and greater traffic on the weekends.
Perhaps surprisingly, more people are killed in auto accidents on August 2nd over any other day of the year, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The researchers suggest that this seemingly random day might be so dangerous because many people take their summer vacations at the beginning of August. Also, daylight hours are long during August, so people are tempted to drive longer hours before it gets dark, leading to more drowsy drivers behind the wheel.
The August 2nd spike in deaths seems to also hold true here in Connecticut. There were 11 fatal car crashes during the week of August 2, 2019 and 12 during the same week in 2020, according to the Connecticut Crash Data Repository. No other week saw double-digit deaths.
If you were injured or lost a loved one in a motor vehicle accident, you may be entitled to receive monetary compensation to cover medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and other damages. You’ll want to enlist the aid of a skilled personal injury lawyer who can help you deal with insurance claims and if necessary pursue a lawsuit on your behalf.
The attorneys of Gesmonde, Pietrosimone & Sgrignari, L.L.C. have extensive experience in auto accident cases. Our Hamden and East Haven lawyers have recovered millions of dollars for injured clients over the years. To find out about your legal options after an accident, please call 203-745-0942 or contact us online.
Gesmonde, Pietrosimone & Sgrignari, L.L.C. is located in Hamden, CT and serves clients in and around North Haven, Hamden, Waterbury, Bethany, Milford, Wallingford, Prospect, Woodbridge, Northford, Madison, Beacon Falls, Branford, Cheshire, North Branford, East Haven, Naugatuck, Meriden, Ansonia and New Haven County.
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