Happy Memorial Day! Today’s map recognizes that not only is this day about recognition of the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military, but also that many travel both in- and out of state for the day. (Three day weekend for white collar workers, amirite?)
Based on the NHTSA data the makers of this map used, Memorial Day was the third-deadliest holiday for auto travel. Minnesota rated as the 7th safest state for travel. Recommendations to maintain safety include drivers slowing down, wearing seatbelts, and not driving after too many Miller Lites.
No information about transit riders or cyclists is represented in this map.
I recall back in the 80’s, mid 80’s I think, that there was a campaign to have zero road deaths in MN for Memorial Day weekend. There was a lot of hype about it. I think it took until about 9:30 on the Friday evening before someone dies in a crash.
It was repeated for other summer holiday weekends for a couple three (hat tip to Common) years before it was dropped. I don’t know how often, if ever, we have zero road deaths on a regular two day weekend.