Happy 4th of July! As usual, everybody is out to celebrate to
commemorate the Declaration of Independence Day in the United States.
This day marks the 237th year of independence of the country from the
Kingdom of Great Britain.
Since this day is declared as a national holiday, Independence Day is being celebrated with fireworks, parades, fairs, carnivals, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies and parties everywhere. Of course, when there’s a party, there’s alcohol as well – and drunken drivers!
Based on statistics, holidays are the deadliest time of the year to be on the road. Each year, hundreds of Americans die as a result of alcohol-related vehicle accidents.
Incidentally, among those holidays, the Fourth of July has repeatedly ranked as the deadliest holiday of the year. In fact, it’s even deadlier than New Year’s Eve.
Over the past quarter of the decade, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been tracking car accidents statistics and keeping records of the same. According to the NHTSA, Fourth of July almost, if not always, tops the list of days that have the most number of car crashes recorded each year. Unfortunately, nearly 50 percent of all the fatal traffic accidents on that day are alcohol related.
Here is a tabled detail of the latest available data from the NHTSA regarding the deadliest day of the year:
Moreover, the NHTSA report also revealed that more people are killed in crashes that involve motorists driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs during weekends and at night. In fact, in 2008 alone, 58 percent of motorists were killed in alcohol-related crashes that took place over the weekend and at night. The data also show that in any day of the year, traffic fatalities mostly occur on two-lane roads, while more people die during rainy days compared to snowy or sleety days.
Usually, most people immediately think of New Year when they talk about holiday. Thus, this association maybe the exact reason why people prefer to stay off the roads during New Year, more than they do on 4th of July, speculated by a Los Angeles auto accident attorney.
Obviously, drunk driving is a major public safety threat that still claims hundreds of lives each day. Therefore, on this day, let me remind drivers about safe driving to prevent traffic misfortunes.
