Accidents Can Ruin an Otherwise Joyful Time of Year. Here’s How You Can Avoid Tragedy this Holiday Season.

The holiday season should be filled with sentimental and nostalgic remembrances of happy days gone by, not to mention exciting plans for the upcoming new year. But accidents that take place during the holidays seem to come back to haunt both the victims and their families time and time again. And with literally millions of Michiganders taking to the state’s highways over the holidays, it’s a given that some of us will find ourselves directly or indirectly involved in tragedies this year.

That’s why we thought we should share with you a few previous articles on ways to be safe now through the end of the year and even up to Super Bowl Sunday (Go Lions!) along with some sobering statistics that might help convince you to drive defensively and stay sober behind the wheel all year round. Let’s get started!

Resources to Read and Share with Loved Ones

• “Blackout Wednesday” is right around the corner – Check out this article which details how the Wednesday right before Thanksgiving has become one of the deadliest days of the year, in part due to people celebrating the upcoming holidays with a little too much “spirit.”

• Winter is coming, and with it will arrive snow, ice and related dangers – Did you know that just about every year Michigan is regularly named among America’s most hazardous states for winter driving? This article discusses that snowy statistic and offers advice on several smart ways you can stay safer on slippery state highways.

• It isn’t just on the state’s highways that you can end up slip-sliding away – Michigan is notorious for slip-and-fall accidents, and the holiday shopping season is a prime time for people to take a traumatic tumble. Review this article for tips on avoiding tripping, slipping, or falling… and for key steps to take if you do end up injured in an unexpected fall.

• Not to be forgotten, New Year’s Eve brings its own kind of dangers – Raising your glass in a festive toast is all well and good but be sure not to imbibe to excess as you ring in 2025. This article focuses on a number of helpful hints you can observe to be sure you start the new year safely and enjoyably – whether you’re driving home from a long-anticipated celebration, going to the mall to exchange a gift, or even when dealing with a difficult insurance company following an accident.

Some Sobering Statistics to Keep in Mind Over the Coming Weeks

• Thanksgiving is 55 percent more dangerous for drivers than an average day on the roads. And New Year’s Day is 117 percent more deadly!

• Distracted driving during the holidays has resulted in nearly 12,000 accidents and dozens of deaths over just the past four years.

• The weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day typically see more highway deaths than other times of year, with Christmas and New Year’s Eve being particularly dangerous.

• A conviction for driving under the influence (DUI) can raise your car insurance premiums a whopping 166 percent.

• Nearly a third of Americans get injured in some way during the holidays – and a large share of those injuries occur due to intoxication. Among those who get hurt, nearly a quarter require emergency medical care.

• In Michigan more than 4,000 people were injured and 85 people died due to winter-related incidents in 2022 (the latest year for which we have complete data).

• Fatal crashes involving drunk driving are 27 percent more common during the holidays than other times of year, and around 8 percent of fatal Michigan holiday accidents involve intoxicated drivers.

• Around 375 people will die in traffic accidents nationwide during the New Year’s holiday period according to research published by the National Safety Council (NSC). Even more (around 500) are likely to die in crashes during the Thanksgiving weekend, and the NSC predicts there will be nearly 350 traffic deaths around Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

• Detroit has the second highest rate of holiday fatalities in America (falling behind only Memphis, TN), and in Michigan driving on holidays is 27 percent more dangerous than on other days of the year.

• You don’t have to be in a car to be in danger on Thanksgiving – it’s far and away the deadliest holiday for pedestrians, too.

• Men are more likely than women to die in holiday-season traffic accidents – historically more than 70 percent of victims who have died in the last two months of the year have been male.

• Alcohol contributes to holiday accidents, but additional traffic volume also plays a part – with 37 percent more traffic than usual on the roads, more congestion can add up to more collisions.

• In addition to alcohol, drugs also contribute to Michigan accidents. The University of Michigan Traffic Research Institute reported nearly 2,500 drug-related crashes and 250 deaths in the state in 2022 (the most recent year for which we have complete statistics). Altogether around 40 percent of traffic fatalities in Michigan can be blamed on drug and alcohol use, a factor that seems to peak around the holidays.

• To avoid drunk drivers, stay off the road between 10-11 p.m., which is the hour when the largest number of alcohol-related accidents typically occur. Want to keep safe from drug-related crashes? Don’t drive between 6-7 p.m., the time when the greatest numbers of those types of collisions take place.

We Wish You a Holiday Season You’llNever Forget… for all the Right Reasons.

We hope this information helps you enjoy this year’s winter holidays by staying safe and by protecting yourself and the people you love from tragic accidents. But if you do happen to suffer an injury – whether it happens in a car crash, on the job, or at your favorite shopping destination – we’ll be here for you. We’re always only a phone call away at 855-MIKE-WINS (855-645-3946), or you can contact us anytime online. Best wishes from our firm to you and yours this holiday season, and all year long!

Content checked by Mike Morse, personal injury attorney with Mike Morse Injury Law Firm. Mike Morse is the founder of Mike Morse Law Firm, the largest personal injury law firm in Michigan. Since being founded in 1995, Mike Morse Law Firm has grown to over 200 employees, served 40,000 clients, and collected more than $1.5 billion for victims of auto, truck and motorcycle accidents. The main office is in Southfield, MI but you can also find us in Detroit, Sterling Heights and many other locations.