2024 Sturgis Rally Numbers: Arrests Up, Fatalities Down

The 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is in the books and the final numbers reveal some positives and some negatives.

On the plus side, injury accidents and fatalities were both down at the 2024 event from the previous year.

According to the South Dakota Highway Patrol, the combined number of injury accidents in Sturgis and the Rapid City District during the ten-day event was just 35, which is nearly half of the 64 that occurred during the 2023 rally.

The 54 non-injury accidents reported this year were four fewer than last year.

Fatalities at the just concluded rally were also down, with three in 2024 compared to five in 2023.

In all, 1,455 citations were issued, which is an increase of less than two percent from 2023.

The overall number of arrests was up by about 15 percent this year with a total of 599 compared to 521 in 2023.

The biggest jumps were in DUI and misdemeanor drug arrests.

Driving Under the Influence arrests were up about 30 percent (121 to 155), while misdemeanor drug arrests rose about 15 percent (246 to 281).

Felony drug arrests were up slightly, from 155 to 163.

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UPDATE: Tuesday (August 13), authorities released the official vehicle count for this year's rally, which topped out at 470,987, which is down about 18,000 from the five-year average (488,720 vehicles), but up more than 12,000 from last year's total (458,161 vehicles).

Friday, Aug. 2, 2024: 51,179 vehicles entered (down 1.5% from the previous five-year average)
Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024: 55,127 vehicles entered (down 2.3% from the previous five-year average)
Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024: 52,182 vehicles entered (down 12.7% from the previous five-year average)
Monday, Aug. 5, 2024: 55,971 vehicles entered (down 5.1% from the previous five-year average)
Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024: 54,451 vehicles entered (down 5.2% from the previous five-year average)
Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024: 52,878 vehicles entered (down 3.6% from the previous five-year average)
Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024: 50,053 vehicles entered (up 1.1% from the previous five-year average
Friday, Aug. 9, 2024: 44,671 vehicles entered (down 0.5% from the previous five-year average)
Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024: 34,583 vehicles entered (up 1.7% from the previous five-year average)
Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024: 19,892 vehicles entered (down 5.1% from the previous five-year average)

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Source: 2024 Sturgis Rally Numbers: Arrests Up, Fatalities Down

Filed Under: Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, The Black Hills of South Dakota, South Dakota Highway Partol

Categories: Articles, News, South Dakota