Emptier US roads more lethal in coronavirus pandemic, report says

Roadway deaths fall 8%, number of miles driven falls 18%, fatalities per mile increases 14%... What is noteworthy about this? Do most accidents occur near intersections or in urban areas rather than on highways? Where is the data on where these accidents happen? There are a lot less people commuting far distances due to the increase in remote work - and now these statistics are based on fewer people taking lower mileage trips. To go to the grocery store, I need to drive 3 miles and I go through 18 intersections. To go to work I'm driving 50 miles and going through 12 intersections. Intersections create scenarios where some vehicles are going 50mph faster than those stopped or turning. With some location data added, would this show that fatalities are higher in areas where there are larger concentrations of vehicles going drastically different speeds? Fender benders on the highway aren't going to cause deaths. Being T-Boned or being hit by someone running a red light....

Interesting: &quot;Anecdotal reports indicate speeding, for example, has increased significantly since traffic diminished. Some states are also moving forward with ill-advised roadway tactics intended to address the COVID-19 pandemic but that could have far-reaching consequences. Among them are repealing requirements for teen drivers to pass road tests before acquiring licenses and relaxing hours of service rules for commercial vehicle drivers.&quot;<p>Summary of the report is here:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nsc.org&#x2F;in-the-newsroom&#x2F;motor-vehicle-fatality-rates-jump-14-in-march-despite-quarantines" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nsc.org&#x2F;in-the-newsroom&#x2F;motor-vehicle-fatality-r...</a><p>And the details are here:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;injuryfacts.nsc.org&#x2F;motor-vehicle&#x2F;overview&#x2F;preliminary-monthly-estimates&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;injuryfacts.nsc.org&#x2F;motor-vehicle&#x2F;overview&#x2F;prelimina...</a>

I&#x27;ve witnessed this - folks driving like its a post-apocalyptical world, running lights and stop signs, speeding through empty neighborhoods at double the limit, parking randomly. Aggressive drivers are matched up against distracted drivers - on one trip, two times the light changed and the first car in line sat there for 5 or 10 seconds.

I bet part of this is a selection effect. The most prudent people are staying home as much as possible, so a higher proportion of the miles driven are by people with a predisposition to be reckless.

This is exactly my experience. The roads are less populated but I find the percentage of aggressive drivers has sky rocketed. People are weaving in and out, speeding at excessive speeds (100 mph+) and generally being assholes. I don’t know why the police aren’t patrolling the highways more, because it would be very easy to hand out tickets these days.

This is another example of how often intuitions can be dramatically incorrect. I think most people assumed that roads would be much safer during lockdowns. But there&#x27;s almost always some extra factor you&#x27;re not aware of that that changes things.<p>I try to be skeptical of any of those &quot;obvious&quot; conclusions that come to mind. It helps a lot with programming, where the obvious solution to a problem is often fundamentally wrong. (I&#x27;m not always successful at doing that, though.)

Personally, when I hopped back in the car after not driving for a month; it felt weird. I think that people are just de-conditioned and less cars on the road gives people false confidence in their atrophied skills.

Anecdotally, in India, driving has become more deadlier than usual even if total number of deaths are lower. People are speeding more, since traffic police presence is lower, people are jumping red lights and driving on the wrong sides of the road a lot more. You have to be hyper alert.

In Massachusetts, &quot;there were 28 deaths on the state&#x27;s roadways in April — compared to 27 at the same time last year&quot; despite traffic being 50% lower. The article says 1&#x2F;3 of the deaths were on interstate highways but doesn&#x27;t say if the proportion of deaths on highways vs. local roads was abnormal or not.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wbur.org&#x2F;bostonomix&#x2F;2020&#x2F;05&#x2F;04&#x2F;massachusetts-roadway-deaths-coronavirus" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wbur.org&#x2F;bostonomix&#x2F;2020&#x2F;05&#x2F;04&#x2F;massachusetts-roa...</a>

The roads have been extra fun for those of us who enjoy them responsibly. I have seen only a few cases of unusual&#x2F;dangerous things. I feel like only those with extreme experinces are reporting because of the interest effect. While cities are less busy, many rural areas seem as busy as ever, partly due to increased traffic from people looking to &#x27;get out&#x27;, is my only interesting observation..

On the plus side, we got a new Cannonball Run record: 26 hours across the continent, which works out to an average of 107 mph including stops...<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.whichcar.com.au&#x2F;news&#x2F;the-cannonball-run-record-has-been-obliterated" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.whichcar.com.au&#x2F;news&#x2F;the-cannonball-run-record-h...</a>

A lot of these reports make assumptions that the problem is due to speeding, but they don&#x27;t contain any data about actual traffic speeds. I would like to see some evidence that the median and 85th percentile speed of traffic has gone up significantly before giving credence to claims that speeding has increased.

Here is Southern California, I’ve seen a lot more crazy driving on the freeways. Since there are far less cars, I’ve seen a lot of people driving 90+ mph during the work week. It’s nuts. However the last two weeks here has seen an uptick in traffic, meaning more crowded roads and less of the speeding.

Can confirm. After a month of a total lockdown (Poland) some people got more aggressive. After some restrictions got lifted, like entering forests, cycling or jogging, situation is getting more or less normal.

I&#x27;ve noticed that people are driving a lot faster on the emptier roads.

Theres a post on the front page that says otherwise?<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=23258858" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=23258858</a><p>which is it

Jaywalking has increased in SF and probably other cities. This contributes to the per-mile death rate.

Are empty roads causing people to drive recklessly? Or are the isolation and disruption to people&#x27;s lifestyles causing it?

Sunday drivers 24&#x2F;7

The dimmest among us think it&#x27;s fun to drive extra fast because there are less cars on the road. States should jack up fines exponentially to try and deter these sociopaths.

I&#x27;m way more scared of cars than the virus. There&#x27;s no cure for automobiles, but at least there&#x27;s hope of a vaccine at some point in the future.

The other day I went to the office to pick up something and I was finally able to experience the nice banked turn in my commute at full speed. 160kmh with tires at the limit of grip, when most of the days I can barely get 60kmh there. What a pleasure.