Traditionally, Labor Day has been a time to celebrate the end of summer and pay tribute to the hard-working people who provide goods and services that improve our quality of life. But some celebrations can take a turn for the worse when drivers get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol.
- Six people died on Iowa highways over the Labor Day weekend in 2022.
- Three of the six people killed were involved in crashes with drunk drivers.
- Every day in the United States, 37 people die in drunk-driving crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- That’s one person killed every 39 minutes.
- 13,384 mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and friends died in crashes with drunk drivers on U.S. highways in 2021.
- That’s a 14 percent increase in drunk-driving-related deaths from 2020.
Every one of these deaths was preventable.
If you’re looking to host a festive and safe Labor Day party, here’s a link with 77 nonalcoholic party drinks https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/non-alcoholic-party-drinks/.
So far this year in Iowa, 254 people have been killed in traffic crashes. That’s an increase of nine since last Friday. In Iowa in 2022, there were 338 traffic-related deaths. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, go to the daily fatality report at https://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdf