IIHS Study Reveals Deadly Stats of Traveling on New Year’s Day

A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety confirms what is a widely known and unfortunate reality: that roads are a dangerous and deadly place to be on New Year’s Day.

IIHS looked at data from the past five years focusing on alcohol-related fatalities among drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians. According to the study, there was an average of 113 fatal crashes on January 1 during that time period, with 62 percent of those deaths related to alcohol impairment (with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher). That’s almost double the overall impairment rate of 35 percent between 2011 and 2015.

The study also points out that on New Year’s Day an average of 70 deaths occurred involving at least one impaired driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist. Findings were also grim for vehicle passengers; an average of 83 passenger deaths occurred on January 1 in that five-year period, up from an average of 59 fatalities on other days.

Many options exist to prevent a celebratory night from turning into a tragedy.  Ride hailing services like Uber and Lyft should be out in full force during the New Year (prepare for those surge prices), and the American Automobile Association (AAA) offers free towing services in select cities. Also consider the Hotel Tonight app if you’d rather find a nearby last-minute bed to crash on.

Source: IIHS

The post IIHS Study Reveals Deadly Stats of Traveling on New Year’s Day appeared first on Motor Trend.

from Motor Trend http://ift.tt/2igExUe