Thanksgiving 2018: fatal car accidents and deaths
Over Thanksgiving week 2018, Wednesday to Sunday (November 21 to 25), 492 people died in 454 fatal car accidents on US roads, 1% fewer than the 499 on the same weekdays around it. It was the ninth most of the ten from 2015 to 2024. Thanksgiving Day alone: 108 deaths, against 97 on a normal day. The Wednesday before alone: 104 deaths, against 89 on a normal day.
2017 · 2019 · Every year together, day by day and state by state.
Thanksgiving 2018 road deaths in every state
California had the most, 71 deaths, then Texas with 51. In 47 of 51 states and DC at least one person died; a 0 is a real count of none. One year's counts are too small to rank states by; every year together ranks them per resident.
| State | Deaths | Fatal crashes | Pedestrians |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 71 | 63 | 17 |
| Texas | 51 | 49 | 10 |
| Florida | 34 | 29 | 5 |
| North Carolina | 22 | 20 | 3 |
| Georgia | 19 | 18 | 4 |
| Illinois | 17 | 16 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 16 | 15 | 4 |
| Missouri | 13 | 13 | 1 |
| Washington | 13 | 12 | 4 |
| South Carolina | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| Indiana | 12 | 11 | 3 |
| Michigan | 12 | 11 | 3 |
| Virginia | 12 | 11 | 1 |
| Mississippi | 12 | 10 | 1 |
| Louisiana | 11 | 11 | 3 |
| Montana | 11 | 7 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 10 | 10 | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 10 | 9 | 1 |
| Alabama | 9 | 9 | 2 |
| Arizona | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| New York | 9 | 9 | 5 |
| New Mexico | 8 | 7 | 2 |
| Wisconsin | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 7 | 7 | 3 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Ohio | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| Colorado | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| Maryland | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Oregon | 6 | 6 | 3 |
| Massachusetts | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| West Virginia | 6 | 5 | 2 |
| Kansas | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| New Hampshire | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Iowa | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| South Dakota | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Delaware | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Hawaii | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Nevada | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Utah | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Alaska | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Idaho | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Maine | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vermont | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Questions about Thanksgiving 2018 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on Thanksgiving 2018?
- 492 people died in 454 fatal crashes on US roads over Thanksgiving week 2018, Wednesday to Sunday (November 21 to 25), 1% fewer than the 499 on the same weekdays around it. Of them, 91 were pedestrians. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on Thanksgiving 2018?
- California, with 71 deaths. In 47 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads.
- Was Thanksgiving 2018 deadlier than usual?
- 492 road deaths was the ninth most of the ten from 2015 to 2024; the average is 546. The deadliest was 2017 and the least deadly 2019.
Where the Thanksgiving 2018 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Wednesday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week in 2018, in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, final file. The normal day is the same weekdays in the weeks before and after, averaged (4 of them this year). How the holiday is counted.