The Thanksgiving holiday offers many Americans a long holiday weekend to spend time with friends and family. Unfortunately, travel for the Thanksgiving holiday is also associated with an uptick in car crashes resulting in serious injury and death.
Prior to each major holiday weekend, the National Safety Council (NSC) releases a fatality and injury estimate.
For the purposes of this data, the Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend period begins at 6 p.m. on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and runs through 11:59 p.m. the following Sunday evening (marking the end of the weekend). For 2021, this period begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 24 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 28th.
Below outlines historical estimates from the NSC along with actual deaths.
Thanksgiving Day Holiday Traffic Fatalities
| Year | Actual Deaths | NSC estimated deaths |
| 1995 | 519 | 527 |
| 1996 | 570 | 528 |
| 1997 | 554 | 541 |
| 1998 | 586 | 541 |
| 1999 | 567 | 500 |
| 2000 | 497 | 497 |
| 2001 | 580 | 532 |
| 2002 | 527 | 575 |
| 2003 | 544 | 544 |
| 2004 | 556 | 556 |
| 2005 | 605 | 610 |
| 2006 | 623 | 555 |
| 2007 | 542 | 564 |
| 2008 | 484 | 479 |
| 2009 | 401 | 447 |
| 2010 | 417 | 441 |
| 2011 | 375 | 434 |
| 2012 | 405 | 451 |
| 2013 | 360 | 436 |
| 2014 | 403 | 418 |
| 2015 | 392 | 433 |
| 2016 | 439 | 437 |
| 2017 | 470 | 421 |
| 2018 | 433 | 433 |
| 2019 | 406 | 417 |
| 2020 | 504 | 485 |
| 2021 | 514 | 515 |
| 2022 | 518 | |
| 2023 | 507 |
If you’re hitting the road for the Thanksgiving holiday, travel safely!
Sources & Other Useful Resources
- https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/holidays/thanksgiving-day/
- https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/holidays/thanksgiving-day/data-details/
- https://cdan.nhtsa.gov/tsftables/tsfar.htm
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