More Drunk Driving On New Years Eve Than Christmas

Christmas and New Years Eve are on the horizon, once again it is imperative for drivers to be extra vigilant on the road due to the rise of drinking and driving. People who do not commonly drink a lot will be on the road, as well as people who drink more when around their families. Every year there are drunk driving related deaths around the holidays, turning what should be a time of joy into a time of hardship.

The National Safety Council (NSC) has found that more fatal car crashes caused by alcohol happen on New Year’s Eve rather than Christmas. 

Between 2007 and 2011, there were 93 alcohol-related deaths during the Christmas holiday, with 35 percent linked to alcohol. Over the New Year’s holiday there were an average of 108 traffic deaths and 42 percent could be linked to alcohol, according to Bloomberg.

This year, there will be an estimated 105 traffic deaths and 11,200 injuries requiring medical professionals during the Christmas holiday. The NSC estimates 156 traffic deaths and 16,700 injuries during New Year’s.

“The difference between the two holidays is that everybody on New Year’s Eve is going out to parties and at their parties, they’re having the alcohol,” Capt. Nancy Rasmussen, Chief of Public Affairs for the Florida Highway Patrol, told Bloomberg. Christmas is more of a “stay-in-the-house, do-the-family thing, so there’s less drinking,” she added.

Holidays are a bad time for driving altogether and the report showed that traffic deaths are more likely during the July 4, Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends than New Year’s, Thanksgiving or Christmas, the article notes. We wish you a safe and merry Christmas and New Years.

If you cannot avoid drinking be sure to have a plan for getting home that does not involve you driving.

Related articles

• New Year's Tops Christmas in Fatalities Tied to Alcohol (bloomberg.com)