The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is a popular time to travel, but it can also be a dangerous time to hit the road.
More than 300 people died in car accidents in the U.S. over the 2022 Thanksgiving holiday weekend, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Over the past four years, four highly traveled Ohio routes have seen more fatal crashes than the other roads in the state during the holiday weekend. Two of them run through Greater Cincinnati.
Here’s what to know, according to data from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Most dangerous Ohio roads to drive over Thanksgiving
The Ohio routes with the most fatalities from 2020 to 2023 over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend were Interstate 71, Interstate 75, U.S. Route 62 and U.S. Route 3, with each road seeing two or more fatalities during that span. North-south routes I-75 and I-71 run perpendicular to each other through Cincinnati. The other two routes pass through Columbus.
According to state highway patrol data, most crashes over the holiday weekend happened on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Here’s a look at crashes over this time period in Cincinnati and surrounding areas.
Crashes in 2020, from the Wednesday before Thanksgiving through the following Sunday:
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Hamilton County: 329 crashes.
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Butler County: 77 crashes.
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Warren County: 38 crashes.
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Clermont County: 68 crashes.
There was one fatal crash in Warren County. There were six fatalities and 2,707 crashes statewide.
Crashes in 2021, Wednesday before Thanksgiving through following Sunday:
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Hamilton County: 271 crashes.
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Butler County: 91 crashes.
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Warren County: 36 crashes.
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Clermont County: 44 crashes.
There were 14 fatalities and 3,582 total crashes statewide.
Crashes in 2022, Wednesday before Thanksgiving through following Sunday:
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Hamilton County: 236 crashes.
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Butler County: 86 crashes.
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Warren County: 43 crashes.
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Clermont County: 41 crashes.
There was one fatal crash in Warren County. Across the state, there were 13 fatalities and 2,498 total crashes.
Crashes in 2023, Wednesday before Thanksgiving through following Sunday:
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Hamilton County: 224 crashes.
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Butler County: 81 crashes.
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Warren County: 38 crashes.
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Clermont County: 36 crashes.
There were 11 fatalities statewide and 2,449 total crashes.
Exit 12 off southbound Interstate 75.
When is the best day to travel for Thanksgiving?
In Cincinnati, the Ohio Department of Transportation expects there will be heavy travel-related traffic Tuesday, with moderate traffic Wednesday and Sunday. The department anticipates light traffic on Thanksgiving and Friday, and normal traffic Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 4 Ohio roads are more dangerous than the others over Thanksgiving
