Sturgis Saw A 25% Decrease In Crashes This Year, While Drug Arrests Rose

The Rally Tally is in after the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. While traffic accidents resulting in fatalities and injuries were down, felony drug arrests were up.

By: Robbie Bacon

Aug 22, at 7:24am ET

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The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is arguably the most iconic in the world; it's everything you think a motorcycle rally is, in a good way, and everything your mother thinks it is, in a bad way. Nearly half a million vehicles flood Sturgis and the surrounding areas every August throughout the 10-day event; as much as that's music to any gearhead's ears, you can't have that much of a surge in traffic without dealing with some negative consequences.

Unfortunately, most years, I'm faced with fairly negative reports from the rally, but 2026 offers some alleviation as, in terms of statistics, it was safer in almost every way than 2025's event.

The headline is that crashes were down by 25%, but I can already hear the clued-in amongst us asking, "But how much did the attendance fall. I bet it was at least 25%." Well, it wasn't. Throughout the 10-day rally, more than 318,000 people showed up, but traffic was down in Sturgis by 7.8% compared to the five-year average. So the decrease in crashes was a notable win. There were 38 crashes that resulted in injury, which is 40% lower than in 2025, and three that resulted in a fatality, which is 25% less than the previous year.

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The police had an easier time at Sturgis this year too, more or less. The troopers made 105 arrests for driving under the influence, which is down a few points compared to the previous year, and made 197 misdemeanor drug arrests, which is also down by around 17% compared to 2026. But even with the reduced traffic this year, troopers made 108 felony drug arrests, which is up from 104 compared to the previous year. Law enforcement also wrote around 1556 traffic citations, which is up by around 14% from last year.

These stats make up most of the 'Rally Tally', which is the information on investigations conducted only by the South Dakota Highway Patrol, but it doesn't include statistics from other law enforcement agencies. Although felony drug arrests went up in 2026, the fact that the rally ended with fewer incidents resulting in fatalities and injuries, is a fantastic note to finish on.