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There was a global 24% spike in roadway deaths? I find that hard to believe. Please provide evidence. In my country we saw a 10% reduction in road deaths throug

There was a global 24% spike in roadway deaths? I find that hard to believe. Please provide evidence. In my country we saw a 10% reduction in road deaths through 2020.

nightpool 5y ago
GP means in the US, where there was a 24% spike in roadway deaths per miles driven. Here's some more details: "The nonprofit National Safety Council estimates in a report issued Thursday that 42,060 people died in vehicle crashes in 2020, an 8% increase over 2019 and the first jump in four years. Plus, the fatality rate per 100 million miles driven spiked 24%, the largest annual percentage increase since the council began collecting data in 1923." "Motor vehicle fatality estimates are subject to slight increases and decreases as data mature. The National Safety Council uses data from the National Center for Health Statistics, an arm of the CDC, so that deaths occurring within 100 days of the crash and on both public and private roadways – such as parking lots and driveways – are included in the Council’s estimates." It's hard to figure out exactly how to credit this—perhaps the overall excess COVID deaths are being counted as part of the "100 days"? But the USA Today article quotes lots anecdotal data from state highway officials that back up this claim, including an increase in speeding tickets and an increase in crashes that involve intoxication over the same time period: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2021/03/05/pandemic-travel-traffic-deaths-up-8-2020-despite-driving-less/4590942001/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2021/03/05/pandemi.... The 8-9% number they quote is also backed up by Minnesota's own statistics, which I would imagine are more limited in what they consider a traffic death.
- belltaco 5y ago
  It makes sense. Cops were more reluctant to pull people over for covid safety reasons so drivers felt more emboldened speeding. The roads have been emptier so people have been going faster than norma, whether above or below the speed limit. Lack of other social entertainment may have caused thrill seeking in the form or speeding or racing, especially since drug and alcohol use seems to have gone up as well for the same reasons.
  - nightpool 5y ago
    "Cops were more reluctant to pull people over for covid safety reasons so drivers felt more emboldened speeding" Is this true? The rest of the possible explanations you cite make sense, but the USA Today article I cited earlier contains a quote from the Minnesota traffic safety department saying that the number of speeding tickets handed out went up in 2020, almost 100% (from 500 tickets in 2019 to 1,068 in 2020).
- disordinary 5y ago
  He should have specified that, because we're talking global here. A 24% spike in the US is absolutely insane.
  - nightpool 5y ago
    Remember, the 24% number is "deaths per miles driven", so it has 2 (potentially related) trends driving it: much fewer miles driven and more accidents overall.

There was a global 24% spike in roadway deaths? I find that hard to believe. Please provide evidence. In my country we saw a 10% reduction in road deaths through 2020.

nightpool 5y ago

GP means in the US, where there was a 24% spike in roadway deaths per miles driven. Here's some more details: "The nonprofit National Safety Council estimates in a report issued Thursday that 42,060 people died in vehicle crashes in 2020, an 8% increase over 2019 and the first jump in four years. Plus, the fatality rate per 100 million miles driven spiked 24%, the largest annual percentage increase since the council began collecting data in 1923." "Motor vehicle fatality estimates are subject to slight increases and decreases as data mature. The National Safety Council uses data from the National Center for Health Statistics, an arm of the CDC, so that deaths occurring within 100 days of the crash and on both public and private roadways – such as parking lots and driveways – are included in the Council’s estimates." It's hard to figure out exactly how to credit this—perhaps the overall excess COVID deaths are being counted as part of the "100 days"? But the USA Today article quotes lots anecdotal data from state highway officials that back up this claim, including an increase in speeding tickets and an increase in crashes that involve intoxication over the same time period: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2021/03/05/pandemic-travel-traffic-deaths-up-8-2020-despite-driving-less/4590942001/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2021/03/05/pandemi.... The 8-9% number they quote is also backed up by Minnesota's own statistics, which I would imagine are more limited in what they consider a traffic death.

belltaco 5y ago
It makes sense. Cops were more reluctant to pull people over for covid safety reasons so drivers felt more emboldened speeding. The roads have been emptier so people have been going faster than norma, whether above or below the speed limit. Lack of other social entertainment may have caused thrill seeking in the form or speeding or racing, especially since drug and alcohol use seems to have gone up as well for the same reasons.
- nightpool 5y ago
  "Cops were more reluctant to pull people over for covid safety reasons so drivers felt more emboldened speeding" Is this true? The rest of the possible explanations you cite make sense, but the USA Today article I cited earlier contains a quote from the Minnesota traffic safety department saying that the number of speeding tickets handed out went up in 2020, almost 100% (from 500 tickets in 2019 to 1,068 in 2020).
disordinary 5y ago
He should have specified that, because we're talking global here. A 24% spike in the US is absolutely insane.
- nightpool 5y ago
  Remember, the 24% number is "deaths per miles driven", so it has 2 (potentially related) trends driving it: much fewer miles driven and more accidents overall.