New Year's Eve can make for some dangerous roads, but the state and county you reside in could determine how safe the drive is from the party to your home, one new study says.
According to a new study, some states and counties have a much higher crash rate on New Year's Eve when compared to others.
The study was conducted by law firm Cannon & Dunphy S.C. and consumer safety advocacy firm Safer America. The study calculated each state and county's crash rate on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day using data from the past five years from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Isolating all deadly crashes that occurred on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day from 2013-14 to 2017-18, the study found that more than 1,000 people were killed in fatal collisions across the U.S. on New Year’s Eve or Day.
But some areas were prone to more crashes than others over the holiday period, the study says. A crash rate for each state and county was calculated by examining the number of crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers.
In addition to the crash rates, the study also found there are certain hours that drivers should avoid on New Year's Eve.
"Without a doubt, the hours between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. are the most dangerous during the New Year’s holiday," the study says.
These hours were Nos. 1 and 2 for total fatal crashes and fatal crashes involving a drunk driver. Fatal crashes drop significantly from midnight to 1 a.m. as people are likely to stay where they are to count down to the new year, according to the study.
The results of the study are shown below.
The five states with the highest crash rates (most dangerous states) were:
- Mississippi
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Wyoming
- Texas
The five states with the lowest crash rates (safest states) were:
- North Dakota
- Delaware
- Rhode Island
- Minnesota
- Vermont
Which Counties had the most fatal crashes?
- Los Angeles, CA – 33 fatal crashes, 35 fatalities
- Harris County, TX – 26 fatal crashes, 30 fatalities
- Dallas County, TX – 20 fatal crashes
- Maricopa County, AZ – 18 fatal crashes, 18 fatalities
- San Diego County, CA – 17 fatal crashes, 18 fatalities
- San Bernardino County, CA – 14 fatal crashes, 20 fatalities
- Orange County, FL – 13 fatal crashes, 14 fatalities
- Miami-Dade County, FL – 13 fatal crashes, 13 fatalities
- Duval County, FL – 12 fatal crashes, 13 fatalities
- Broward County, FL – 12 fatal crashes, 12 fatalities
FIVE YEARS OF FATAL CRASHES ON NEW YEAR'S EVE AND NEW YEAR'S DAY
*Crash rates are expressed per 100,000 licensed drivers in each state.
| Rank | State | Fatal Crashes | Fatalities | Drunk Driver Crashes | Drunk Driver Fatalities | Crashes Per 100k Licensed Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi | 29 | 33 | 8 | 8 | 1.44 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 33 | 35 | 12 | 14 | 1.32 |
| 3 | South Carolina | 47 | 50 | 18 | 19 | 1.25 |
| 4 | Wyoming | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1.19 |
| 5 | Texas | 188 | 210 | 62 | 66 | 1.18 |
| 6 | Florida | 167 | 178 | 37 | 39 | 1.14 |
| 7 | Louisiana | 36 | 43 | 21 | 25 | 1.06 |
| 8 | West Virginia | 12 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 1.04 |
| 9 | New Mexico | 15 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 0.99 |
| 10 | Alabama | 38 | 44 | 12 | 15 | 0.96 |
| 11 | Kentucky | 28 | 32 | 10 | 12 | 0.92 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 48 | 54 | 13 | 15 | 0.92 |
| 13 | Arizona | 42 | 43 | 11 | 11 | 0.83 |
| 14 | Missouri | 35 | 38 | 16 | 19 | 0.82 |
| 15 | South Dakota | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0.80 |
| 16 | North Carolina | 57 | 61 | 15 | 16 | 0.78 |
| 17 | Maine | 8 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0.78 |
| 18 | Georgia | 54 | 63 | 18 | 22 | 0.77 |
| 19 | Oregon | 22 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 0.77 |
| 20 | Hawaii | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0.75 |
| 21 | Alaska | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.75 |
| 22 | Virginia | 41 | 41 | 13 | 13 | 0.69 |
| 23 | Kansas | 13 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 0.64 |
| 24 | Indiana | 29 | 31 | 9 | 9 | 0.64 |
| 25 | Michigan | 45 | 53 | 17 | 20 | 0.64 |
| 26 | Connecticut | 16 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 0.61 |
| 27 | California | 154 | 167 | 35 | 38 | 0.59 |
| 28 | Wisconsin | 23 | 27 | 15 | 19 | 0.55 |
| 29 | Iowa | 12 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 0.53 |
| 30 | Nevada | 10 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 0.53 |
| 31 | Illinois | 45 | 50 | 18 | 21 | 0.53 |
| 32 | Colorado | 21 | 24 | 6 | 7 | 0.52 |
| 33 | Utah | 10 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0.51 |
| 34 | Montana | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0.50 |
| 35 | Washington | 28 | 32 | 12 | 14 | 0.50 |
| 36 | Pennsylvania | 43 | 46 | 10 | 10 | 0.48 |
| 37 | Ohio | 37 | 41 | 18 | 22 | 0.46 |
| 38 | Idaho | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 0.43 |
| 39 | Nebraska | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0.43 |
| 40 | Maryland | 18 | 20 | 7 | 8 | 0.42 |
| 41 | New Jersey | 26 | 26 | 7 | 7 | 0.42 |
| 42 | New York | 49 | 51 | 13 | 13 | 0.41 |
| 43 | District Of Columbia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.41 |
| 44 | Massachusetts | 19 | 26 | 6 | 10 | 0.38 |
| 45 | Arkansas | 9 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0.38 |
| 46 | New Hampshire | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.36 |
| 47 | Vermont | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0.36 |
| 48 | Minnesota | 12 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0.36 |
| 49 | Rhode Island | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.27 |
| 50 | Delaware | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.26 |
| 51 | North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.18 |
