Driving Risks in the COVID-19 Apocalypse

Reckless driving has increased dramatically since March, which has led to a disproportionate number of speed-related crashes and fatalities, according to law enforcement and traffic experts. In many states, people are being cited for traveling over 100 miles an hour. In a one month period from March to April this year, the CHP wrote 2,493 tickets for drivers going over 100 mph. That's an 87% increase compared to the same period as last year.  It’s insane. The Los Angeles Times reported in May that despite a huge drop in traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people killed in collisions in Los Angeles in 2020 was about the same as it was at the same point in 2019. Fewer vehicles on the road, means more available lane space for drivers which some people abuse to the point of seriously jeopardizing their safety and the safety of others.

It is not surprising that people are driving faster, since commute traffic congestion has largely disappeared. But experts are troubled by the fact that many people are driving in excess of 80 mph on highways — and even worse, on neighborhood streets shared with bicycles and pedestrians.

What’s more, it appears that the drivers who are speeding during the pandemic are also more distracted. A study released by the data analytics company Zendrive found motorists are braking harder and using their phones more while driving. The analysis of millions of miles of driving data based on smartphone sensors found speeding is up by 27 percent on average, while hard braking climbed 25 percent. Phone usage on the nation’s roadways steadily increased in the weeks following the stay-at-home guidelines, up by 38 percent in mid-April, according to the report.
The current driving behavioral changes contributed to a 20 percent increase in collisions per million miles traveled since the beginning of the shutdowns, the report says. “As a result, every minute spent on the road is riskier, every mile is riskier,” the report said. “The data suggests that our anxiety over social distancing and growing attachment to screens has carried over into our driving behaviors.”

Officials are pleading with drivers to slow down because crashes put people at risk, including essential workers during the pandemic, and resulting in unnecessary road shutdowns and delays.
Why is this happening?  The explanation for the uptick in speeding and accidents may be simple. The roads are more open, giving people room to speed. But this also produces a “contagious” effect. If several people around you are speeding and traffic is moving faster, you will tend to drive faster as well, even if you're not conscious of it. Additionally, other factors may also be contributing, experts and advocates say, noting that opportunities to speed also exist during normal times, for example at night when roads are empty and this type and extent of speeding hasn't been a problem before.

Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, which works to improve traffic safety, suggests that speeders may be under the impression that police are not prioritizing traffic stops during the pandemic. Others, he said, may be aware that some police departments are operating with limited resources because some of their officers are out sick with the virus, or because they have been reallocated to elsewhere as a part of the health crisis response. “People are doing it because they think they can get away with it,” Adkins said.

Other experts believe that boredom or the stress caused by the impact of current pandemic protocols could contribute to current speeding, as people may be seeking excitement or an adrenaline rush or an emotional release. It’s similar to how people turn to risky behaviors in other stressful situations. During times of stress, people often turn to drinking or to drugs. In this case, people are turning to speeding as their drug.  This is a selfish and dangerous attitude, especially during the pandemic.  Hospitals are resource constrained and people are dying from the coronavirus.  A preventable crash adds more burden to hospital resources and on first responders.

Traffic safety advocates want more enforcement and education, because they are concerned that this pattern of dangerous driving behavior could continue as states reopen and more people return to the roads. To counteract this, it’s wise to amend the current COVID-19 safety message. “When you’re out of your house, stay socially distanced and wear a mask … And when you get behind the wheel, SLOW DOWN"