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Drunk Driving: 44% of Fatalities on Halloween Night

Halloween can be a deadly night on the nation's roadways. From 2012-2016, 168 people lost their lives due to drunk driving on Halloween night, according to a new report form the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

by Marianne Matthews
October 24, 2018
Drunk Driving: 44% of Fatalities on Halloween Night

Drunk driving has been a serious safety concern on Halloween night, and 44% of crash fatalities are due to drunk driving.

Graphic courtesy of NHTSA.

1 min to read


Halloween can be a deadly night on the nation's roadways. From 2012-2016, 168 people lost their lives due to drunk driving on Halloween night, according to a new report form the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Halloween alcohol-impaired roadway fatalities are on the rise, notes NHTSA. The report found that a whopping 44% of all people killed in motor vehicles crashes on Halloween night were in collisions that involved a drunk driver.

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In fact, the greatest number of drunk driving crashes happen on Halloween night, notes NHTSA, specifically between the hours of 6 p.m. on Oct. 31 and 6 a.m. on Nov. 1. Younger people are at highest risk. The 21- to 34-year-old age group accounted for the most fatalities (46%) in drunk-driving crashes on Halloween night in 2016.

Finally, the report shows that pedestrians are at risk — 14% of pedestrian fatalities on Halloween night during the same five years (2012-2016) involved drunk drivers.

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