With millions of Americans expected to hit the road this weekend, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has some advice: Drive sober or get pulled over.

Labor Day weekend is the second deadliest holiday for roadways deaths — a third of them involving alcohol.

What You Need To Know

  • Labor Day weekend is second only to the Fourth of July for roadway deaths

  • In 2021, 531 people died on U.S. roadways over the four-day Labor Day holiday, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  • Over the Labor Day holiday, Friday evening after 6 p.m. has the most fatalities per hour as people begin their travels, according to an analysis from the insurance website, Jerry; Saturday is the deadliest day of the four-day weekend overall

  • Between 2012 and 2021, California, Texas and Florida had the most fatal crashes overall during the Labor Day weekend, the Jerry analysis found

“Impaired drivers put everyone, including themselves, at risk,” NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson said in a statement. “We’re asking everyone to arrange for a sober ride home. It’s a matter of life and death.”

In 2021, 531 people died on U.S. roadways over the Labor Day weekend, second only to the Fourth of July, the agency said. Overall, the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day have historically been most dangerous for drivers as more people travel compared with other times of the year.

Alcohol-impaired driving crashes are making up a larger share of overall traffic deaths, increasing 14.2% from 2020 to 2021, compared with a 10.1% increase a year earlier. About two-thirds of drunk driving crash fatalities in 2021 involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .15 — almost twice the legal limit of .08. An average of one alcohol-impaired driving fatality occurred every 39 minutes.

Over the Labor Day holiday, Friday evening after 6 p.m. has the most fatalities per hour as people begin their travels, according to an analysis from the insurance website, Jerry. Saturday is the deadliest day of the four-day weekend overall. Fatal crashes peak between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. most days and are lowest between 6 and 10 a.m.

Between 2012 and 2021, California, Texas and Florida had the most fatal crashes overall during the Labor Day weekend, the Jerry analysis found. Per capita, Montana topped the list, followed by Wyoming, Mississippi, New Mexico and Virginia.

Los Angeles was the city with the most Labor Day weekend traffic fatalities, followed by Dallas, Philadelphia, San Antonio and Chicago. Per capita, Westchester County, N.Y. topped the list of counties with populations above 1 million that had the most roadway deaths, followed by Mecklenburg County, N.C.; Fulton County, Ga.; Dallas County, Texas; and San Bernardino County, Calif.