The law firm’s research shows that Halloween is almost as dangerous as traditional end-of-year road holidays

Halloween is certainly a scary holiday, and that’s the point of the day. But motor vehicle accidents surrounding this tradition are truly frightening, and recent statistics show that the roads are becoming increasingly dangerous as Halloween approaches.

Bader ScottA personal injury law firm recently completed a study of road accidents on and around Halloween, and the numbers are rising. Throughout the US, there are now 163.4 fatalities on Halloween and usually about 153 fatalities per day in the eight weeks surrounding the spooky day. That’s a 6.8% increase in fatal wrecks on Halloween compared to the period surrounding the holiday.

Brader Scott Researchers compiled their results using fatal accident data obtained from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) from 2013 to 2022.

While most people consider traditional holidays towards the end of the year present dangerous hazards on roads, Seth Baderfounder of Bader Scott, said many face the deadly challenges of Halloween.

“Holidays are always a time to celebrate, where people enjoy spending their free time with family and friends. However, holidays can also bring increased risks on the road, with people rushing to stick to their vacation plans or driving in unfamiliar locations while visiting loved ones,” Bader said.

“On some public holidays there is an increase in pedestrian traffic, which means motorists need to be more aware. This is especially true at Halloween, where there will always be excited children in dark clothing trick or treating. In times like these, it always pays to be careful while driving. Also, plan to have a designated driver or some other way not to drive if your party plans to drink,” he added.

Alaska was the top state in the country, with the number of fatal crashes between the eight weeks surrounding Halloween and the traditional day itself rising from 0.3 to 0.7, an increase of 195.2%. Rhode Island came in second and Maine came in third.

Florida ranked 13th in the nation for that ratio of change. But the raw numbers were grimmer than the actual percentages. Florida had 12.8 fatalities in the eight weeks surrounding Halloween. But that number rose to 15.8 on the day Halloween is celebrated on October 31, an increase of 25.1%. No other higher-ranked state had more significant raw numbers, and no other higher-ranked state had more than ten crash fatalities, either in the eight weeks surrounding Halloween or on the day itself. Florida had the highest number of people killed in car accidents on Halloween than any other state.

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