Fourth of July Accidents Deadliest U.S. Holiday to Drive

Drivers at Risk During Major Traffic Over Fourth of July Weekend

The safest place to be on the Fourth of July is at home, but if you are like most people you’ll be out celebrating the holiday — whether it’s at a parades or barbeque, the beach or one of many fireworks celebrations.

To get there you are going to need to drive your car. That’s when we are all put in harm’s way, no matter how good a driver we are.

Indeed, the Independence Day weekend has a long history of being the deadliest holiday of the year. In fact, it ranks just slightly worse than New Year’s Day.

“Unfortunately most of the fatalities on the roadways involved a drunken or drugged driver, speeding, dangerous driving or just because someone didn’t wear a seat belt,” said Attorney James Johnson.

Holiday Traffic Accidents Rise on Fourth of July

The statistics are staggering. Roughly 385 people could die and 41,200 could suffer injuries in collisions, from swimming activities and fireworks mishaps, according to estimates by the National Safety Council (NSC).

 It’s not just driving accidents that are deadly. A year ago, eight people died and 11,400 others suffered injuries in fireworks accidents throughout the United States. However, the bulk of fatalities and injuries on this holiday involved collisions, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports.

On average, about 130 people died in traffic accidents just on Independence Day itself. This is according to records kept between 2008 and 2012 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The entire month of July is also a risky time to be driving. Overall there are more traffic accident deaths in July as well as August than any other month of the year, according to data analyzed by the IIHS between 1998 and 2014. The report states that those two months accounted for an average of 116 deaths per day nationwide. It also says the safest times to travel are on weekdays and most fatal crashes take place between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on any given day.

Top Causes of Traffic Accidents

Sadly, most collisions are totally preventable. Human errors account for 94 percent of all crashes. The top causes of collisions are alcohol, distracted or drowsy driving, speeding, no seat belts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Most of us are not going to be traveling somewhere on July 4th, but as long as we take precautions such as not drinking and driving, avoiding distractions, wearing our seat belts and obeying all traffic laws we are likely to remain safe.

Johnson Attorneys Group is a California personal injury law firm that represents clients throughout the Golden State. These are individuals who have been injured due to another person’s negligence. Call us today for a free consultation at 800-235-6801. 

 

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