Is the Covid-19 stay at home order reducing traffic deaths?

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Specializes in retired from healthcare.

I give up, I can't find any statistics to show me how many people have died in accidents this year. I was could find them for 2018 along with an average number of deaths per year but not for 2020. I was not able to trust any source I found since I had never heard of them before and they only described what they claim is going on in California.

I hope people working in hospitals right now are seeing a lot less accident victims and fewer deaths and fewer people maimed.

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There probably isn't a lot of readily available data on current accidents. Whatever data set you've found sounds like it's retroactive, meaning that there's a 1-2 year delay between when the data was collected and published (meaning the 2020 data won't be available for a few more years). You might be able to find local sources, but they'll probably still have a lag (I.e. data from March might not be compiled and available for a few more months).

I have also read anecdotal evidence that traumas are down. It's mostly due to the decrease in car accidents, but also due to the lack of contact sports/outdoor activities/gyms, and people intentionally avoiding risky activities that could land them in the hospital.

Here's an article about a guy who makes performance art by dropping knives; he paused his knife-dropping activities because he didn't want to end up in the hospital and get CV-19. He took up 'balancing on furniture,' but landed in the ED anyway because he fell on a pile of knives....?

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emmanuelfelton/knife-balloon-guy-injured?origin=tuh

I've also heard anecdotal evidence that there's a decrease in admissions unrelated to COVID besides trauma, like psych admissions. People who abuse the ED for things like chronic back pain are also staying home to avoid getting sick at the hospital.

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I'm sure the traffic fatalities will drop somewhat, but other types will go up. Perhaps injuries from household conflict and bored people getting into trouble. I have read some stories of Cali speeders over 100 MPH because the hi ways are empty. "Stupid is as stupid does".

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My commute is a breeze these days. I think it might be the only good thing about this whole situation.

I want to say that fewer cars on the road = fewer accidents. However, with fewer cars on the road, there's more enticement for speeding. But, then, if there are fewer cars on the road, there's probably a lower chance of a collision, even with the increased speed.

I would also think that fewer social gatherings = less drinking out of the home = less drunk driving. You don't have to drive home after a Zoom happy hour.

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20 minutes ago, juniper222 said:

I'm sure the traffic fatalities will drop somewhat, but other types will go up. Perhaps injuries from household conflict and bored people getting into trouble. I have read some stories of Cali speeders over 100 MPH because the hi ways are empty. "Stupid is as stupid does".

I read something saying that the risk for domestic violence will be much higher right now. The combination of people being stuck in confined spaces, economic concerns/job losses, the loss of coping behaviors (due to the closure of most out-of-home activities), and the fear of getting sick at shared spaces like women's shelters all put people at much higher risk.

Granted, a lot of domestic violence goes unreported/untreated unless it's very severe, so it's possible that there still won't be a surge in those types of hospital admissions. Even if somebody truly needs medical care, they might avoid going to see a doctor anyway because of virus concerns.

9 minutes ago, turtlesRcool said:

My commute is a breeze these days. I think it might be the only good thing about this whole situation.

I want to say that fewer cars on the road = fewer accidents. However, with fewer cars on the road, there's more enticement for speeding. But, then, if there are fewer cars on the road, there's probably a lower chance of a collision, even with the increased speed.

Excellent point, although I have noticed a huge surge of cops out on the streets. Maybe it's because everybody else is staying home and cops make up a greater proportion of the people who are out driving, but I feel like I see a ton of patrol cars whenever I'm out.

If the traffic cops are bored because nobody is around, I wonder if they'll probably be more enthusiastic about ticketing people who are driving even moderately above the limit.

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6 minutes ago, adventure_rn said:

Excellent point, although I have noticed a huge surge of cops out on the streets. Maybe it's because everybody else is staying home and cops make up a greater proportion of the people who are out driving, but I feel like I see a ton of patrol cars whenever I'm out.

If the traffic cops are bored because nobody is around, I wonder if they'll probably be more enthusiastic about ticketing people who are driving even moderately above the limit.

Cops don't want to catch COVID19 either. One of my brother's friends is a cop, and he was like, "I don't pull ANYONE over anymore." I think the cops on the side of the road are there mainly as a deterrent, though I do think they'll pull you over for something grossly dangerous. However, I don't think they're looking to increase their face-to-face encounters with public.

But then, I'm in CT, and we currently have the 4th largest outbreak per capita, and a lot of people go back and forth between here and New York. Maybe cops out in less affected parts of the country are more enthusiastic about ticketing drivers, but the ones around here seem to have a pretty good sense of self preservation.

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6 minutes ago, adventure_rn said:

I read something saying that the risk for domestic violence will be much higher right now. The combination of people being stuck in confined spaces, economic concerns/job losses, the loss of coping behaviors (due to the closure of most out-of-home activities), and the fear of getting sick at shared spaces like women's shelters all put people at much higher risk.

Granted, a lot of domestic violence goes unreported/untreated unless it's very severe, so it's possible that there still won't be a surge in those types of hospital admissions. Even if somebody truly needs medical care, they might avoid going to see a doctor anyway because of virus concerns.

Excellent point, although I have noticed a huge surge of cops out on the streets. Maybe it's because everybody else is staying home and cops make up a greater proportion of the people who are out driving, but I feel like I see a ton of patrol cars whenever I'm out.

If the traffic cops are bored because nobody is around, I wonder if they'll probably be more enthusiastic about ticketing people who are driving even moderately above the limit.

Perhaps those cops are all watching only you! LOL just kidding.?

I still never see them in my neck of the woods and wish they would swing by once in awhile to make their presence known. My neighbors get out of control from time to time. We had a guy build a huge monster truck and drive it though our neighborhood. It was obnoxiously loud! We also have folks going 35 to 40 in our housing area with children out playing.

It would be interesting to see some numbers on what differences there was during this CV19 thing. For one thing, the sky is blue because the lack of aircraft flying.

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7 hours ago, adventure_rn said:

I read something saying that the risk for domestic violence will be much higher right now. The combination of people being stuck in confined spaces, economic concerns/job losses, the loss of coping behaviors (due to the closure of most out-of-home activities), and the fear of getting sick at shared spaces like women's shelters all put people at much higher risk.

Granted, a lot of domestic violence goes unreported/untreated unless it's very severe, so it's possible that there still won't be a surge in those types of hospital admissions. Even if somebody truly needs medical care, they might avoid going to see a doctor anyway because of virus concerns.

Excellent point, although I have noticed a huge surge of cops out on the streets. Maybe it's because everybody else is staying home and cops make up a greater proportion of the people who are out driving, but I feel like I see a ton of patrol cars whenever I'm out.

If the traffic cops are bored because nobody is around, I wonder if they'll probably be more enthusiastic about ticketing people who are driving even moderately above the limit.

As an “essential” worker, I was a more than a little put-off by the statement of one local police department-

https://lansingcitypulse.com/stories/lansing-police-curtails-enforcement-amid-coronavirus-scare,13958

Quote

Until further notice, police officers in Lansing will no longer physically respond to any reports of larceny, malicious destruction of property or shoplifting where a suspect cannot be readily identified and where the value is under $1,000, attempted breaking and entering of unoccupied buildings like garages, identity theft where the victim wasn’t financially harmed, harassing communications, lost property and fraud when the venue of the crime is outside of city limits.

It sounds like while you’re out doing your “essential” job, those with nefarious intent are allowed to take whatever they like from your unoccupied home or garage.

I’d be quite surprised if policies like this weren’t fairly widespread in my area, this one just happened to be put to writing and got published.

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Specializes in nursing ethics.

I read that there are about 40,000 deaths from auto accidents in a

year (US). Compare that to number of deaths from the virus.

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22 hours ago, turtlesRcool said:

Cops don't want to catch COVID19 either. One of my brother's friends is a cop, and he was like, "I don't pull ANYONE over anymore." I think the cops on the side of the road are there mainly as a deterrent, though I do think they'll pull you over for something grossly dangerous. However, I don't think they're looking to increase their face-to-face encounters with public.

But then, I'm in CT, and we currently have the 4th largest outbreak per capita, and a lot of people go back and forth between here and New York. Maybe cops out in less affected parts of the country are more enthusiastic about ticketing drivers, but the ones around here seem to have a pretty good sense of self preservation.

Yes! I'm in CT and every morning everyone is driving 75-80 with an occasional moron cruising by around 90. There are cops at almost every usual speed trap spot right now, I see 3-5 on a typical morning and have seen one of the 90 mph SUVs fly right by two different cops and no one came out for him.

Most people aren't even bothering to tap their brakes anymore. I was wondering why there was so much high visibility placement but nothing actually happening. Makes sense.

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I'm sure it is. Although, like

23 hours ago, turtlesRcool said:

My commute is a breeze these days. I think it might be the only good thing about this whole situation.

Tee hee, so is mine. The roads are wonderful! I often don't realize I'm speeding until I look at the speedometer or see ?‍♂️ (whoops).. and yes, I believe there will be less collisions with less traffic..

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Specializes in retired from healthcare.
On 4/8/2020 at 10:31 AM, Mywords1 said:

I read that there are about 40,000 deaths from auto accidents in a

year (US). Compare that to number of deaths from the virus.

Although I found this same information, I don't see anything on how many traffic deaths have happened so far in 2020. Someone has already pointed out, they don't publish the numbers until later.

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