Halloween Drunk Driving: A Frightening Reality of Impaired Drivers Amid Celebrations

The only thing scarier than zombies and witches loose on the streets on Halloween is an impaired driver, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

On Halloween night from 2017 through 2021, 159 people were killed in drunk driving crashes, and in 2021, that number was 38. That same night, when many people were out trick-or-treating, 17 pedestrians were killed, as victims of a drunk driving crash or walking drunk themselves.

‘Drivers should also keep an eye out for pedestrians — whether they be children trick-or-treating or adults who have had too much to drink,’ the federal agency said. ‘ Walking while intoxicated can also be deadly, as lack of attention to their surroundings could put pedestrians at risk of getting hit by a vehicle.’