Sturgis 2023: Inside the Numbers

The 83rd Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is in the books and once again a large number of people from all over the globe found their way to the Black Hills for the annual event.

According to the South Dakota Department of Transportation, a grand total of 458,161 vehicles passed through the area during the ten days of the rally, from August 4-13.

So how do those numbers compare to the previous five-year average?

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Overall, the 2023 figures were down a little more than 40,000 vehicles from the five-year average of 498,282 vehicles. That's down slightly more than eight percent.

Here is the day-by-day breakdown of the numbers compared to the five-year average:

• Friday, August 4: 45,652 vehicles (-13.4%)
• Saturday, August 5: 38,126 vehicles (-37.3%)
• Sunday, August 6: 60,586 vehicles (+4.4%)
• Monday, August 7: 50,487 vehicles (-16.9%)
• Tuesday, August 8: 55,848 vehicles (-4.2%)
• Wednesday, August 9: 56,444 vehicles (+1.4%)
• Thursday, August 10: 52,195 vehicles (+3.7%)
• Friday, August 11: 45,661 vehicles (+0.4%)
• Saturday, August 12: 33,278 vehicles (-4.5%)
• Sunday, August 13: 19,884 vehicles (-6.5%)

And while the SDOT was monitoring traffic, the  South Dakota Highway Patrol was dealing with the crime and crash figures from the rally.

Overall there were 11 fatalities in the area surrounding the event.

The other numbers:

• Injury accidents: 64 (up from 50 last year)
• Drunken-driving arrests: 120 (down from 148 last year)
• Drug arrests: 401 (up from 251 last year)
• Total citations: 1,479 (up from 1,430 last year)
• Total warnings: 4,296 (down from 5,288 last year)
• Cash seized: $2,005 (down from $4,335 last year)