The Most Dangerous Roads on Labor Day Weekend

If Labor Day weekend is anything like last year, more than half of all Americans will travel over the holiday weekend. Drivers should be diligent when hitting the road, however, as the holiday is one of the most dangerous days of the year for driving.

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Using data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, researchers at TruckInfo.net discovered a few worrying trends for Labor Day drivers.

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Drunk driving is a major issue over Labor Day

Like many holidays, drunk driving is a major issue over Labor Day weekend, and fatalities from drunk driving spike by nearly a third.

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Labor Day driving fatalities in urban areas have spiked in recent years

Historically speaking, the majority of driving fatalities have occurred in rural areas. However, this trend reversed in 2017. Over the past decade, driving fatalities in urban areas has nearly doubled. At the same time, driving fatalities in rural areas have decreased by 17%.

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Wyoming, Montana, and Mississippi are the most dangerous states for driving over Labor Day

While the majority of fatalities occur in urban areas, Wyoming, Montana, and Mississippi are the most dangerous states for driving – with nearly three as many fatalities per capita as the US as a whole.

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Four of the most dangerous roads are outside of populated metro areas

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The most dangerous counties for driving on Labor Day weekend (2003-2022)

1. Los Angeles County, CA

• Labor Day Driving Fatalities: 140
• Population: 9,719,765

2. Cook County, IL

• Labor Day Driving Fatalities: 86
• Population: 5,111,566

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3. San Bernardino  County, CA

• Labor Day Driving Fatalities: 77
• Population: 2,194,908

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4. Harris County, TX

• Labor Day Driving Fatalities: 73
• Population: 4,781,337

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5. Dallas County, TX

• Labor Day Driving Fatalities: 70
• Population: 2,601,993

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6. Maricopa County, AZ

• Labor Day Driving Fatalities: 62
• Population: 4,555,833

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7. Miami-Dade County, FL

• Labor Day Driving Fatalities: 55
• Population: 2,673,056

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8. Kern County, CA

• Labor Day Driving Fatalities: 51
• Population: 916,751

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9. Broward County, FL

• Labor Day Driving Fatalities: 49
• Population: 1,946,889

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10. Riverside County, CA

• Labor Day Driving Fatalities: 48

Population: 2,474,241

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Full Data & Methodology

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Fatal accident statistics were sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 2003 through 2022. Population data was sourced from the US Census Bureau. Large counties were defined as those with populations greater than 500k, mid-size counties as those with populations between 150k-500k, and small counties as those with a population under 150k.