Studies show that the 4th of July weekend is the most dangerous holiday for car crashes. We reviewed data from the Pennsylvania State Police about this year’s statistics. Officials say that over 50 million people traveled for the 4th of July weekend this year, a recording breaking amount.
The American Automobile Association states that Independence Day weekend is the most dangerous holiday in terms of car crashes. Pennsylvania State Police say that this year, there was a slight increase in alcohol-related crashes as compared to the year prior. They investigated 668 vehicle crashes resulting in three fatalities and 194 injuries during the five-day Independence Day travel period, which ran from June 30-July 4. Troopers say Alcohol was a factor in 59 of the non-fatal crashes.
The total number of crashes has increased this year but there was one less fatality, none of which occurred in our viewing area. PSP says these statistics only cover incidents investigated by PSP and do not include incidents in which other law enforcement agencies responded.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that during this holiday, we see an almost 40% increase in impaired driving crashes compared to the rest of the year. That could mean one life lost every 24 minutes. This year, Troopers made 505 arrests for driving under the influence and issued 23,738 total traffic citations — including 845 people cited for not wearing seat belts and 210 tickets to people for failing to secure children in safety seats. The number of DUI Arrests only decreased by 10.
For more information on this year’s statistical data, visit the Pennsylvania State Police website.