The rate of drunk driving crashes increased on Super Bowl Sunday, as is the case with other football game days.
The auto insurance industry has released data that has revealed that when NFL home games are played, as well as during the Super Bowl, car crashes rise, particularly when it comes to those that are associated with drunk driving.
The data also revealed that when a home NFL team loses, the car crash rate increases more than when there is a win.
Auto insurance statistics have shown that big NFL game days align consistently with a rise in vehicle collisions. Super Bowl Sunday is particularly known for drunk driving. This, according to the Auto Club of Southern California and other safety officials in the state. The last five years of California crash data were examined, and what was discovered was that there was an increase of 77 percent in crashes related to alcohol use and which lead to either injury or death on Super Bowl Sunday.
In certain communities, the rate of drunk driving crashes recorded by auto insurance companies doubled or more.
This was the case in the insurance data found in San Diego, where the increase on that one day of the year is more than double the average for the rest of those years. According to the insurance commissioner in California, Dave Jones, “Every one of us has a responsibility to ensure we do not contribute to the problem by allowing a drunk or drugged driver to hit the road on Super Bowl Sunday.”
However, it is important to note that the collision rate doesn’t just increase on that one game day. The Highway Loss Data Institute data has shown that insurance claims rise notably in ZIP codes that surround NFL stadiums, even during the regular season. This is the case regardless of whether the home team loses, wins, or even ties. In fact, when the home team ties or loses, the rate of auto collisions is greater than after games when the home team has won.
This auto insurance data was based on a study of neighborhoods surrounding 31 different NFL stadiums. During the average game, the rate of collision claims rise by 9 percent over the typical day, when the home team lost or tied. On days when the home team has won, the crash rate increases by 3 percent.
