The Fourth of July is the deadliest holiday of the year for motorists in California and across the United States, according to a study by Value Penguin. In fact, the auto insurance comparison website found that the fatality rate on Independence Day is 23% higher than the average for six other major U.S. holidays.
For the study, researchers analyzed holiday crash data between 2010 and 2017 and found that 1,192 people were killed during the Fourth of July over the eight-year period. Meanwhile, 1,105 people were killed on Memorial Day weekend over the same period of time. Researchers also found that drunk driving deaths were 57% more likely to occur on Independence Day than during other summer days, with an average of 42.4 people dying in alcohol-related deaths each Fourth of July holiday during the study period. In comparison, an average of 39.5 people died in DUI accidents on Memorial Day, followed by an average of 38.1 on Labor Day, 31.7 on New Year’s Day, 27.9 on Thanksgiving Day and 27.7 on Christmas Day.
According to the study, the day of the week that Fourth of July falls on also matters. For example, motorists were 43% more likely to die when Independence Day fell on a Wednesday than when it fell on a Saturday. Finally, researchers found that auto insurance premiums increase by as much as 47% for drivers who are convicted of drunk driving.
Drunk driving car accidents cause thousands of serious injuries and deaths across the nation each year, and the total costs of these crashes are not always covered by insurance policies. However, injured crash victims might retain an attorney to help recover compensation for their losses, including medical expenses, lost wages and property loss. In cases where someone is killed by a drunk driver, an attorney may recover funeral costs and other losses by filing a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the victim’s family.