New Year’s Eve is thought of as a party holiday, with drinking, dancing and people driving home from the bar. Thanksgiving is thought of as a family holiday, where everyone gathers at grandma’s house and carves a turkey.
Perceptions and stereotypes aside, though, and the states tell a different story. Thanksgiving has actually ended up causing more fatal DUI crashes recently than New Year’s Eve, making it the deadlier of the two holidays.
The days around Thanksgiving are also ones that see a significant amount of action when it comes to drinking and driving. Specifically, the night before Thanksgiving–and into the early morning on the holiday itself–is one of the biggest bar nights in the country every year. This can naturally lead to more DUI arrests, as well.
Some experts have noted that there are more arrests when people have long weekends. This could contribute to the danger of Thanksgiving, which is on Thursday. Even if people don’t go out the night before, many of them will get Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday off of work, something that rarely happens.
Other holidays that tend to be dangerous include Labor Day, the Fourth of July and Memorial Day. In 2012, for instance, Pennsylvania saw 440 DUI arrests over the whole Labor Day weekend. However, there were more DUI wrecks around New Year’s weekend than there were for Labor Day. Still, these days do rank highly most years, as people simply have more time and want to kick back and enjoy being out of work.
Those who have been injured in DUI accidents, or who have lost loved ones, must know what legal options they have in Virginia.
Source: The Law Dictionary, “What holiday statistically has the most recorded DUI’s per year?,” J. Hirby, accessed Nov. 25, 2015
