New research undertaken by The Insurance Bulletin maps the incidence of fatalities on Christmas day and New Year’s Eve to prepare drivers in the U.S. as they head out on the road at the end of the year.

The American Automobile Association estimates 112.7 million people will journey 50 miles or more from December 23 to January 2. According to the association, 2022 will be the third busiest year for holiday travel since 2000 when they began tracking holiday travel.

More people on the road means more accidents and tragically, more fatalities. The Insurance Bulletin used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) on fatal accidents from 2016 to 2020 and U.S. Census data on a county and state level to examine where there were greater incidences of fatal car crashes based on population. The greatest incidence of Christmas and New Year’s Eve fatalities controlled for population were in Alaska, Florida, North Dakota and Oregon. These were our key findings:

• The states with the highest incidence of fatal car crashes on Christmas and New Year’s Eve are Alaska, Florida, North Dakota, Oregon and Wisconsin.
• The states with the lowest incidence of fatal car crashes are Vermont (with zero recorded fatal accidents from 2016 to 2020), Montana, New York, Idaho and Rhode Island.
• Drivers are five times as likely to be in a fatal car crash on Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Montana than they are on any other average day of the year. Drivers in Utah are only half as likely to be in a fatal car crash on Christmas and New Year’s Eve as they are on any other average day of the year.
• Fatalities happened twice as often between 5 p.m. and midnight on New Year’s Eve, and fatal accidents were more than three times as likely between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Christmas day.
• Compared to women, men are twice as likely to be the driver in a fatal crash.

To see the full breakdown, visit this URL.