Data story

Which days of the year have the most traffic deaths? 2020–2024 data

July 4 averages 152 traffic deaths, a third more than a typical day, and September and October have the most deaths per day. US data for 2020–2024.

By Mike · Published · Data through 2024

On an average day from 2020 to 2024, 112.3 people died in crashes on US roads. Some days are consistently far worse.

Independence Day stands out

Averaged over the five years, the calendar dates with the most traffic deaths were:

Date Average deaths Compared with an average day
July 4 152.2 +35.5%
October 29 142.4 +26.8%
June 18 142.2 +26.6%
October 30 142.0 +26.4%
January 1 141.6 +26.1%
September 4 141.0 +25.6%

July 4 is clearly ahead of every other date. New Year's Day is also well above average, and much of the difference comes from the first hours of the year: 44% of New Year's Day deaths happened between midnight and 6am, compared with 21% on an average day.

Five years is a short run, and a fixed date falls on a different day of the week each year. Because weekends have more deaths than weekdays, some dates on this list are high partly because they fell on a Saturday more often. July 4 was above that year's daily average in all five years; New Year's Day was in four of the five, the exception being 2020.

Other holidays

Day Average deaths, 2020–2024 Compared with an average day
Halloween (October 31) 131.6 +17.2%
Labor Day 126.2 +12.4%
Memorial Day 124.4 +10.8%
Thanksgiving 117.4 +4.5%
New Year's Eve 111.8 −0.4%
Christmas Eve 106.6 −5.1%
Christmas Day 102.6 −8.6%

Christmas Day and Christmas Eve are both below an average day.

Late summer and autumn have the most deaths

By month, the most deaths per day were in September (125.1) and October (125.0), followed by August (123.1). January had the fewest, at 95.0 a day. The number of deaths climbs through the spring, stays high through summer and autumn, and falls away in winter.

Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 13,588
Feb 12,706
Mar 14,040
Apr 14,383
May 16,110
Jun 16,643
Jul 17,138
Aug 17,631
Sep 17,389
Oct 17,961
Nov 15,976
Dec 15,643
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About these figures

Averages are total deaths on each date across 2020 to 2024, divided by five. February 29, which occurred only twice in those years, is left out. The average day uses all 1,827 days in the five years. A death is counted on the date of the crash. How the data works

Explore the data

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates. How the data works.