2026’s Most Dangerous Days for DUIs

Drunk driving is a serious problem across the country. But certain days are more dangerous on the road than others. MoneyGeek analyzed historical data from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to identify the deadliest days, weeks and holidays for driving under the influence (DUI) in the United States from 2018 to 2022.

Drunk driving happens in every season, though some months see far more intoxicated drivers than others. Summer is the most dangerous time to drive. Twenty-eight percent of DUI-related deaths from 2018 to 2022 happened in the summer.

Fall accounted for 26% of DUI-related deaths, close behind summer. Twenty-four percent of DUI deaths occurred in the spring. Winter has its own road dangers, and drunk drivers add to them. At 22%, winter had the fewest DUI-related fatal accidents of any season.

New Year's Day was the deadliest day of the year for drunk driving. Fatal accidents involving intoxicated drivers spiked 89% above baseline levels that day. Unlike other holidays where celebrations span several days, New Year's parties compress into one night. Most drivers hit the road in the early hours of January 1.

Labor Day ranked second, with fatal DUI crashes 53% above the daily baseline during the holiday weekend. July Fourth came in third at 46% above baseline, while Memorial Day weekend ranked fourth at 45% above baseline.

Saturday was the most dangerous day of the week to drive, accounting for more than 22% of all DUI-related accidents from 2018 to 2022. Sunday ranked second at 20%. Many of those Sunday fatalities happened after midnight, the tail end of Saturday night.

Tuesday had the fewest drunk-driving fatalities. The table below breaks down total DUI fatalities from 2018 to 2022 and their percentage distribution by day of the week.

The first week of September was the most dangerous week for drunk driving from 2018 to 2022, with 1,278 DUI fatalities around Labor Day. The first week of July, which includes Independence Day, came in second with 1,229 fatalities. The fourth week of August ranked third with 1,208 deaths.

Memorial Day weekend in late May ranked fourth with 1,195 lives lost. More travel, outdoor events and social gatherings during the holiday push DUI rates up.

Heather Geronemus knows the consequences of drunk driving firsthand. In 2009, her father, Dr. Robert Geronemus, a prominent kidney specialist in Fort Lauderdale, was walking in downtown Miami after a medical conference dinner when he was struck by a car that went through a red light.

“Think about what DUIs cost families,” she says. “For a victim like me, you can't put a price on a lifetime of memories that you'll never make with a loved one.” But Geronemus says there's definitely a monetary cost. “From a money perspective, understand what DUIs cost society. Estimates show that drunk driving costs our nation over $130 billion per year. Much of these costs are borne by taxpayers, not the drunk driver. This issue affects us all, and it makes financial sense to try to eliminate drunk driving.” What's the real financial cost of a DUI? The numbers add up fast.

“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates a first-time drunk driver can pay as much as $10,000 in fines, legal fees, and higher car insurance costs,” Geronemus says.

A DUI continues to impact your wallet long after the initial violation. Insurance rates can rise sharply after a DUI, and you may no longer qualify for the lowest car insurance rates. You may also be required to file an SR-22, which you can't do on your own. Your insurer must file it on your behalf, and not all carriers offer this option.

Whether or not you need an SR-22, shop around to see if your current insurer can still offer lower auto insurance rates after a DUI. Another company might save you money.

If you've been drinking but don't feel impaired, call a ride. A rideshare fare is a fraction of what a DUI arrest costs, and it keeps everyone on the road safer.

MADD's Heather Geronemus says the technology to stop drunk driving is coming, but it hasn't arrived yet.

"MADD believes that technology will ultimately solve the problem of drunk driving. We are working on Capitol Hill to support legislation such as the RIDE Act and HALT Act, which would direct the Department of Transportation to require new cars to have advanced technology to detect and stop drunk drivers."

"The technology would be passive, so drivers wouldn't know it's in the car unless they were impaired."

Until passive detection technology reaches new cars, defensive driving and a zero-tolerance approach are the best tools available.

MoneyGeek analyzed the five most recent years of DUI crash fatalities from the NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database (2018 to 2022). We compared average fatalities during specific holiday periods to the five-year daily average of 30 fatalities.

To identify the most dangerous holidays for drunk driving, we examined the following holidays and time periods:

• New Year's Day: The actual day only
• Memorial Day: The holiday and the three days before
• Independence Day: The holiday, the day before and the day after
• Labor Day: The holiday and the three days before
• Veterans Day: The actual day only
• Thanksgiving: The holiday and the day before
• Christmas Day: Christmas Day and Christmas Eve

For the weekly analysis, each week ran from Monday through Sunday. We used the same grouping to define seasons: spring (March to May), summer (June to August), fall (September to November) and winter (December to February).

MoneyGeek studied NHTSA data on fatal motor vehicle crashes from 2018 to 2022 involving someone with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08g/dl or more.