How many car accidents happen on the Fourth of July?

NHTSA's file counts only crashes in which someone died: 1,279 over the ten Fourth of July holidays from 2015 to 2024 (July 4, midnight to midnight), about 128 a year, which killed 1,407 people. Crashes with injuries or damage only are not in it; those totals come from state police and transportation departments, and no national count of them exists by day. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Is the Fourth of July the deadliest day of the year to drive?

On the calendar, yes: July 4 averages 141 road deaths over the ten Fourth of July holidays from 2015 to 2024, more than any other date of the year; the average day has 107. Set against the same weekday in the weeks around it, so summer driving is counted in, it still had 28% more deaths.

Are motorcycle deaths higher on the Fourth of July?

Yes. 298 motorcyclists died over the ten Fourth of July holidays from 2015 to 2024, against 216 on the same days of the week around it, 38% more. All deaths together rose 28%.

Is drunk driving worse on the Fourth of July?

574 people died in crashes with a driver at .08 blood alcohol or more over the ten Fourth of July holidays from 2015 to 2024, against 343 on the same days of the week around it, 67% more. The count is NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, with missing tests filled in by NHTSA.

Which state has the most road deaths per resident on the Fourth of July?

Montana, with 1.01 road deaths per million residents per holiday, against 0.43 across the United States. New York has the lowest of the 38 states with enough deaths to rank, at 0.18.

Were more people killed on the Fourth of July in some years than others?

The deadliest of the ten Fourth of July holidays from 2015 to 2024 was 2021 (Sunday), with 173 deaths; the least deadly 2019 (Thursday), with 108.

Fourth of July fatal car accidents and deaths

Over the ten Fourth of July holidays from 2015 to 2024, counted from July 4, midnight to midnight, 1,407 people died in 1,279 fatal car accidents on US roads, 28% more than on the same days of the week around it.

July 4 has more road deaths than any other date of the year, 141 on average. The night is where it shows: 9 pm to midnight had 315 deaths, against 185 in the same hours of a normal day, and 41% of the deaths were in crashes with a driver at .08 blood alcohol or more, against 31% on normal days.

Counted from NHTSA's record of every fatal crash. One year at a time: 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015.

The Fourth of July hour by hour, against a normal day

Midnight to noon had 510 deaths against 429 on a normal day, most of them in the first hours after midnight, the night of July 3. Deaths climb from late afternoon, and 9 pm to midnight is the worst stretch of the day: 315 deaths against 185.

Fourth of July, 2015 to 2024Same weekday, weeks either side (average)

12 crashes on those dates have no recorded hour and are left off the chart.

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count

States where the Fourth of July is deadlier than a normal day

In South Carolina, the Fourth of July had 87% more road deaths than the same days of the week around it, the largest rise of the 23 states with enough deaths to compare, ahead of Michigan and Washington. In two states it had fewer deaths than a normal day, most of all Colorado (-7%).

A state is compared from 20 deaths on the Fourth of July and as many on its normal days; the other 28 have too few. With counts this size, a change of 20% can be a handful of deaths.

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count

Fourth of July road deaths in every state, 2015 to 2024

Montana has the most Fourth of July road deaths per resident: 1.01 per million residents per Fourth of July, against 0.43 across the United States. New York has the fewest of the 38 states ranked. A rate is given from 10 deaths; the 13 states under that say "Not enough data".

	State	Per million residents	Deaths (total)	Fatal crashes (total)	Pedestrians (total)	Change on normal day
1	Montana	1.01	11	9	0	Not enough data
2	South Carolina	0.85	44	41	7	+87.2%
2	New Mexico	0.85	18	12	1	Not enough data
4	Idaho	0.77	14	13	1	Not enough data
5	Oklahoma	0.73	29	26	5	+40.1%
6	Missouri	0.68	42	36	9	+30.0%
7	Mississippi	0.67	20	19	4	-1.0%
8	Louisiana	0.63	29	26	6	+41.5%
8	Arkansas	0.63	19	18	2	Not enough data
10	West Virginia	0.61	11	9	1	Not enough data
11	Georgia	0.58	62	60	6	+41.6%
11	Alabama	0.58	29	26	3	+8.2%
13	Michigan	0.57	57	55	11	+59.2%
14	Kentucky	0.56	25	22	1	+14.7%
15	Kansas	0.55	16	15	2	Not enough data
16	Florida	0.51	111	97	14	+42.7%
16	Tennessee	0.51	35	34	4	+9.4%
16	Nebraska	0.51	10	6	0	Not enough data
19	North Carolina	0.50	53	52	5	+29.3%
19	Wisconsin	0.50	29	28	2	Not enough data
21	Texas	0.47	138	123	18	+32.3%
22	Indiana	0.46	31	30	5	+3.3%
23	Oregon	0.43	18	18	2	Not enough data
24	Arizona	0.42	30	30	10	+0.7%
25	Washington	0.39	30	26	3	+48.5%
25	Connecticut	0.39	14	13	5	Not enough data
25	Nevada	0.39	12	9	1	Not enough data
28	Ohio	0.38	44	37	2	+34.1%
29	Pennsylvania	0.36	46	44	3	+23.7%
30	California	0.35	137	127	36	+39.8%
30	Colorado	0.35	20	17	3	-7.0%
32	Illinois	0.32	41	41	6	+21.3%
33	Virginia	0.31	27	26	0	+12.5%
34	Minnesota	0.27	15	14	0	Not enough data
35	New Jersey	0.23	21	20	8	Not enough data
35	Maryland	0.23	14	14	3	Not enough data
37	Massachusetts	0.19	13	10	0	Not enough data
38	New York	0.18	36	29	7	+15.0%
	South Dakota	Not enough data	9	4	1	Not enough data
	Utah	Not enough data	8	8	2	Not enough data
	Iowa	Not enough data	6	6	1	Not enough data
	Delaware	Not enough data	5	5	1	Not enough data
	Maine	Not enough data	5	4	1	Not enough data
	New Hampshire	Not enough data	5	4	0	Not enough data
	Hawaii	Not enough data	4	4	1	Not enough data
	North Dakota	Not enough data	4	4	0	Not enough data
	Vermont	Not enough data	4	3	1	Not enough data
	Alaska	Not enough data	3	2	0	Not enough data
	District of Columbia	Not enough data	2	2	0	Not enough data
	Wyoming	Not enough data	1	1	0	Not enough data
	Rhode Island	Not enough data	0	0	0	Not enough data

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count

Download the Fourth of July road deaths in every state as CSV. Free to reuse with credit: “Fatal Crash Data, fatalcrashdata.com/fourth-of-july-fatal-car-accidents/, from NHTSA FARS (2024 Annual Report File).”

Every Fourth of July from 2015 to 2024

The deadliest was 2021 (Sunday), with 173 road deaths; the least deadly 2019 (Thursday), with 108.

Year	Weekday	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Normal (average)	Change
2024	Thursday	144	128	101	+43.3%
2023	Tuesday	148	131	85	+73.5%
2022	Monday	129	123	103	+25.2%
2021	Sunday	173	160	143	+21.2%
2020	Saturday	167	158	159	+5.2%
2019	Thursday	108	100	97	+11.1%
2018	Wednesday	140	121	87	+61.3%
2017	Tuesday	137	121	93	+48.1%
2016	Monday	116	108	98	+18.7%
2015	Saturday	145	129	139	+4.5%

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count

Questions about Fourth of July fatal car accidents

How many car accidents happen on the Fourth of July?: NHTSA's file counts only crashes in which someone died: 1,279 over the ten Fourth of July holidays from 2015 to 2024 (July 4, midnight to midnight), about 128 a year, which killed 1,407 people. Crashes with injuries or damage only are not in it; those totals come from state police and transportation departments, and no national count of them exists by day. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
Is the Fourth of July more dangerous to drive than a normal day?: Counted from July 4, midnight to midnight, 28% more deaths than on the same days of the week in the weeks around it. July 4 has more road deaths than any other date of the year, 141 on average. The night is where it shows: 9 pm to midnight had 315 deaths, against 185 in the same hours of a normal day, and 41% of the deaths were in crashes with a driver at .08 blood alcohol or more, against 31% on normal days.
Is the Fourth of July the deadliest day of the year to drive?: On the calendar, yes: July 4 averages 141 road deaths over the ten Fourth of July holidays from 2015 to 2024, more than any other date of the year; the average day has 107. Set against the same weekday in the weeks around it, so summer driving is counted in, it still had 28% more deaths.
Are motorcycle deaths higher on the Fourth of July?: Yes. 298 motorcyclists died over the ten Fourth of July holidays from 2015 to 2024, against 216 on the same days of the week around it, 38% more. All deaths together rose 28%.
Is drunk driving worse on the Fourth of July?: 574 people died in crashes with a driver at .08 blood alcohol or more over the ten Fourth of July holidays from 2015 to 2024, against 343 on the same days of the week around it, 67% more. The count is NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, with missing tests filled in by NHTSA.
Which state has the most road deaths per resident on the Fourth of July?: Montana, with 1.01 road deaths per million residents per holiday, against 0.43 across the United States. New York has the lowest of the 38 states with enough deaths to rank, at 0.18.
Were more people killed on the Fourth of July in some years than others?: The deadliest of the ten Fourth of July holidays from 2015 to 2024 was 2021 (Sunday), with 173 deaths; the least deadly 2019 (Thursday), with 108.

How the Fourth of July figures are counted

Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from July 4, midnight to midnight, in the years 2015 to 2024. The normal day it is set against is the same days of the week one, two and three weeks before and after, averaged for each year, so the weekday and the season match. Where one side of that would touch another holiday or run past the years the file holds, both sides are left out, so the average stays centred on the Fourth of July's own weeks: 6 comparison blocks a year. Deaths within 30 days of the crash count on the day of the crash. Drunk driving deaths are NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure: a driver at .08 or more, with missing tests filled in by NHTSA. Rates per million residents use Census Bureau population estimates summed over the years. The full method.