Fatal Crashes Up: Lockdowns Put the Brakes On Traffic, But Not Speeders

Coronavirus lockdowns led to huge reductions in traffic and fewer car crashes this spring, but as drivers sped up on quieter roads, the collisions became deadlier in several cities, a Reuters analysis shows.

In New York City, the ratio of fatal crashes to all collisions rose 167% in April from a year ago. The increase was 292% in Chicago and 65% in Boston. Across the ocean, in Madrid, Spain, the rate of fatal collisions was 470% higher.

Even as traffic plummeted across the United States, roads became more lethal, with a 37% increase in fatality rates per miles driven in April, compared to the same month last year, the National Safety Council said this week.

Last month, the group said in a statement that the lockdowns and reduced road congestion had created an “apparent open season on reckless driving.”

In Britain, police documented instances of people driving at what they described as exceptionally high speeds of over 130 miles (209 km) per hour.