New data has revealed that North Dakota is the deadliest state to drive this Halloween, as it sees the biggest uptick in on-the-day traffic fatalities. According to data from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), fatal vehicle crashes are 61 percent higher on Halloween in the state than they are throughout the rest of November. This is a sharp comparison to the average 9 percent decrease seen on the spookiest day of the year across the U.S.
While North Dakota is the most dangerous for drivers, Vermont is the safest. These findings have been compiled by Ohio personal injury lawyer John Fitch and provided to Digital Journal.
Following behind North Dakota as the second-deadliest state for drivers is Massachusetts, which sees on-the-day fatalities up by 31 percent compared to the rest of October. In third is Connecticut, with an increase of 30 percent – a 68 percent decrease from the rise seen in North Dakota.
The top five deadliest states for driving on Halloween are:
| State | Percentage On-the-Day Change |
| North Dakota | 61 |
| Massachusetts | 31 |
| Connecticut | 30 |
| Kentucky | 25 |
| Oklahoma | 23 |
On the other end of the scale, the state that proved the least hazardous for drivers on Halloween is Vermont, with the reported cases of fatal vehicle crashes decreasing by 68 percent on average.
The top 5 safest states for driving on Halloween are:
| State | Percentage On-the-Day Change |
| Vermont | -68 |
| Delaware | -55 |
| Kansas | -40 |
| Mississippi | -32 |
| Idaho | -27 |
It is not clear what the exact reason is for there usually being a decrease in fatalities on Halloween in comparison to the run-up to the event. It is perhaps caused by an increase in people walking while trick or treating?
Thanksgiving is the deadliest holiday to travel on, as fatal vehicle crashes usually rise by a staggering 272 percent. The fatalities reported on major holidays are:
| Holiday | Percentage On-the-Day Change |
| Memorial Day | 259 |
| Fourth of July | 227 |
| Labor Day | 181 |
| Halloween | -9 |
| Thanksgiving | 272 |
| Christmas | 188 |
| New Year’s Eve | -16 |
| New Year’s Day | 19 |
Fitch adds: “With increased traffic comes increased risk – particularly for celebrations that can run quite late, like on New Year’s Day, as people are likely to be tired from the night before and therefore may struggle to concentrate as well as they would do normally. If you plan to travel, you need to be conscious of your condition and consider your safety on the road. Ask yourself, are you okay to be driving? Have you slept enough? Will the alcohol be out of your system? Only when the answer is yes to all of those is it safe to drive.”
