USA- Insurancejournal.com writes that while COVID-19 managed to significantly reduce traffic in the United States, the overall drop in crash-related fatalities is far less significant. Thanks to stay-at-home orders and quarantines, the number of cars on the road dwindled in May according to early data. However, with the fatal accidents dropping by just eight percent […]
Crash deaths
USA- Insurancejournal.com writes that while COVID-19 managed to significantly reduce traffic in the United States, the overall drop in crash-related fatalities is far less significant. Thanks to stay-at-home orders and quarantines, the number of cars on the road dwindled in May according to early data. However, with the fatal accidents dropping by just eight percent amid a 25 percent decline in traffic, the crash rate per mile spiked.
The National Safety Council writes that the numbers show that while there are fewer crashes, the risk of dying in a collision, for those who were on the road, was higher.
During May of 2020, much of the nation was under quarantine, but compared to May 2019, the risk of being killed in traffic was up 23.5 percent. In March, the nation also saw a drop of around eight percent in traffic fatalities, but the risk of deadly crash per mile was still fourteen percent higher.
Early estimates suggest that traffic deaths increased in six states in early 2020. In the most dramatic example, New Hampshire saw a rise in crash deaths of 63 percent. Connecticut, Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, and North Carolina all also had increased numbers of fatalities.
In other parts of the country, the numbers dropped, including in Tennessee, Wyoming, Mississippi, Maryland, Michigan, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Florida.
Prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the nation saw a small drop in traffic fatalities in 2018 and 2019.
The NSC is now reminding Americans that car crashes are the number one cause of workplace fatalities. Reopening businesses mean more commuters and potentially more risks for drivers.
