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I followed road traffic safety since 2020 closely (and have submitted and posted about it here) and traffic fatalities is slowly coming down since 2020. My hypo

I followed road traffic safety since 2020 closely (and have submitted and posted about it here) and traffic fatalities is slowly coming down since 2020. My hypothesis about it was that the empty roads in 2020 caused drivers to degenerate in terms of road manners. For example, deaths per mile actually increased in 2020 despite people driving fewer miles which suggests people drove less safely. On the other hand this article says there was a 65% increase in significant incidents from the year prior to Sept. 30. So I think these are two different issues.

xkqd 3y ago
My pet theory has been that extended lockdowns caused regressions in people’s ability to drive safety, whether it was the actual skills to operate a vehicle, or people’s risk assessment skills. Operating a vehicle is a skill like any other, and if you’re not performing reps you’ll regress like any other activity. Empty roads might even permit crappier driving.
- onetimeusename 3y ago
  ya that makes sense. we'll probably never know what happened :|
- fifteenforty 3y ago
  Perhaps, maybe, mass infection by a virus that affects the brain and vascular system has consequences for society.
  - phreeza 3y ago
    It's an interesting hypothesis but should be easy to corroborate with other data, e.g. test scores. I would assume we'd have heard of that?
    - spacecadet 3y ago
      Isnt it a growing opinion of American teachers that students are underprepared? probably a combination of covid and remote learning... I doubt we will see the long term effects of this any time soon.
    - kuschku 3y ago
      We have. The scores have fallen significantly.
    - saalweachter 3y ago
      If we're drawing connections between 2020 and driving behavior, the much more obvious correlation would be the massive anti-police-violence protests, the accompanying increased negative public sentiments re: police, and the police reaction that occasionally gets brought up on HN, decreased policing as retribution.
      - beardedwizard 3y ago
        Underrated comment. Police have "quit" in more than one major city in sfbay.
- withinboredom 3y ago
  I disagree. However, I'm used to going long stretches without driving and then suddenly driving hundreds of km/miles. I suspect, based on my wife's behavior and her driving, that before 2020, people were used to and happy with simply listening to music, a podcast, or something. After/during 2020, many people were no longer satisfied with that. They turned to listening to YouTube, movies, or even face-to-face calls while driving (hell, even my mom does this one), and holding the phone while trying to operate the vehicle. It's almost like people forgot the most important part of driving: minimizing distractions. If I'm in a high-stress part of a drive (unfamiliar roads, high density, etc), I always turn off all media and ask all passengers to be quiet for a bit because I need all my senses. I don't know how many times I've been saved by hearing a car that I can't see yet.
- ikekkdcjkfke 3y ago
  And mine is that the lockdowns felt like an overreach and there was some kind of infantile rebellion
dawnerd 3y ago
I’ve noticed a pretty drastic decline in driving behavior around here. We’re seeing a LOT more just absolutely insane drivers doing things you’d only see in the worst of compilations a few years ago. Something happened during Covid that made people just not care anymore. Also doesn’t help that cops are not pulling people over as much as they should. Watched someone just yesterday fly through a red right in from of a cop that did nothing about it.
- Tempest1981 3y ago
  During peak-Covid, the roads were sometimes at 1/10th normal capacity, which also contributed to a weird driving euphoria, imo. Now the traffic and traffic jams are back, and peak speeds are returning to pre-Covid levels.
- unionemployee 3y ago
  Yes. I think about this all the time. It's so strange, and aside from internet comments it doesn't seem to come up in the mainstream. What happened to people? Why do they not care? It's very evident in driving, but shows up in other areas as well.
  - trevyn 3y ago
    Everything is going to shit. It’ll hit you soon too.
- autoexec 3y ago
  Early in the pandemic some places stopped requiring road tests to get a license. There are probably quite a few drivers on the road that would never have passed.
- onetimeusename 3y ago
  Ya, to corroborate that I know road rage deaths increased in certain areas. There is evidence that people started speeding more too. Since people started speeding during 2020 (deaths per mile went up as total miles traveled went down) my thought was that maybe people became accustomed to not being policed and just started driving much more dangerously and then had a hard time adjusting back. I don't know. Reduced policing could also explain it, or maybe just a general decline in socialization. No one will look into it probably.

xkqd 3y ago

My pet theory has been that extended lockdowns caused regressions in people’s ability to drive safety, whether it was the actual skills to operate a vehicle, or people’s risk assessment skills. Operating a vehicle is a skill like any other, and if you’re not performing reps you’ll regress like any other activity. Empty roads might even permit crappier driving.

onetimeusename 3y ago
ya that makes sense. we'll probably never know what happened :|
fifteenforty 3y ago
Perhaps, maybe, mass infection by a virus that affects the brain and vascular system has consequences for society.
- phreeza 3y ago
  It's an interesting hypothesis but should be easy to corroborate with other data, e.g. test scores. I would assume we'd have heard of that?
  - spacecadet 3y ago
    Isnt it a growing opinion of American teachers that students are underprepared? probably a combination of covid and remote learning... I doubt we will see the long term effects of this any time soon.
  - kuschku 3y ago
    We have. The scores have fallen significantly.
  - saalweachter 3y ago
    If we're drawing connections between 2020 and driving behavior, the much more obvious correlation would be the massive anti-police-violence protests, the accompanying increased negative public sentiments re: police, and the police reaction that occasionally gets brought up on HN, decreased policing as retribution.
    - beardedwizard 3y ago
      Underrated comment. Police have "quit" in more than one major city in sfbay.
withinboredom 3y ago
I disagree. However, I'm used to going long stretches without driving and then suddenly driving hundreds of km/miles. I suspect, based on my wife's behavior and her driving, that before 2020, people were used to and happy with simply listening to music, a podcast, or something. After/during 2020, many people were no longer satisfied with that. They turned to listening to YouTube, movies, or even face-to-face calls while driving (hell, even my mom does this one), and holding the phone while trying to operate the vehicle. It's almost like people forgot the most important part of driving: minimizing distractions. If I'm in a high-stress part of a drive (unfamiliar roads, high density, etc), I always turn off all media and ask all passengers to be quiet for a bit because I need all my senses. I don't know how many times I've been saved by hearing a car that I can't see yet.
ikekkdcjkfke 3y ago
And mine is that the lockdowns felt like an overreach and there was some kind of infantile rebellion

dawnerd 3y ago

I’ve noticed a pretty drastic decline in driving behavior around here. We’re seeing a LOT more just absolutely insane drivers doing things you’d only see in the worst of compilations a few years ago. Something happened during Covid that made people just not care anymore. Also doesn’t help that cops are not pulling people over as much as they should. Watched someone just yesterday fly through a red right in from of a cop that did nothing about it.

Tempest1981 3y ago
During peak-Covid, the roads were sometimes at 1/10th normal capacity, which also contributed to a weird driving euphoria, imo. Now the traffic and traffic jams are back, and peak speeds are returning to pre-Covid levels.
unionemployee 3y ago
Yes. I think about this all the time. It's so strange, and aside from internet comments it doesn't seem to come up in the mainstream. What happened to people? Why do they not care? It's very evident in driving, but shows up in other areas as well.
- trevyn 3y ago
  Everything is going to shit. It’ll hit you soon too.
autoexec 3y ago
Early in the pandemic some places stopped requiring road tests to get a license. There are probably quite a few drivers on the road that would never have passed.
onetimeusename 3y ago
Ya, to corroborate that I know road rage deaths increased in certain areas. There is evidence that people started speeding more too. Since people started speeding during 2020 (deaths per mile went up as total miles traveled went down) my thought was that maybe people became accustomed to not being policed and just started driving much more dangerously and then had a hard time adjusting back. I don't know. Reduced policing could also explain it, or maybe just a general decline in socialization. No one will look into it probably.