(stacker) – Last year, more than 49 million Americans headed out for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, according to the National Safety Council, it is one of the most dangerous driving vacations in the United States.‍

Using data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, researchers at TruckInfo.net have discovered some concerning trends for Thanksgiving travelers.‍

1: Drunk driving during Thanksgiving

Although Uber and Lyft have helped reduce alcohol-related traffic fatalities by 6.1%, drunk driving remains a problem on Thanksgiving – likely because most rideshare drivers are spending time with their families over the holiday.

2: Progress stalled in 2011; Deaths increased

While there was a significant decline in deaths from 2005 to 2011, progress has stalled and moved in the other direction – with deaths up nearly 38% from the 20-year low.

3: Some of the most dangerous roads are outside populated metropolises

While it’s not surprising that metropolitan areas with large populations also see the most traffic accidents during the holidays, four of the ten most dangerous roads in the country are in counties with fewer than half a million residents.

From 2003 to 2022, the following roads experienced the most fatalities during the Thanksgiving holiday:

1. I-15 in San Bernardino County, California: 11 (population: 2.19 million)
2. SR-85 in Okaloosa County, FL: 10 (population: 216,000)
3. I-15 in Riverside County, California: 10 (population: 2.47 million)
4. I-10 in Maricopa County, AZ: 10 (population: 4.56 million)
5. I-5 in Los Angeles County, California: 10 (Population: 9.72 million)
6. I-605 in Los Angeles County, California: 10 (population: 9.72 million)
7. I-10 in Ascension Parish County, LA: 9 (population: 130,000)
8. SR-91 in Indian River County, FL: 9 (population: 167,000)
9. I-8 in Imperial County County, California: 9 (population: 179,000)
10. US-1 in Brevard County, FL: 9 (population: 631,000)

4: West Virginia and Mississippi have by far the most deaths per capita

While large states like California, Texas and Florida record the most traffic deaths per capita during Thanksgiving, West Virginia and Mississippi record the most deaths per capita by a wide margin – both nearly 50% higher than the next state.

methodology

Fatal crash statistics come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and population data come from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Thanksgiving holiday was defined as the Wednesday before Thanksgiving through the Sunday after. Unless otherwise noted, all death statistics are the sum of total deaths from 2003 to 2022 (the most recent data available) and population data are from 2022.

This story was produced by TruckInfo.net and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

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