COVID-19 Era Crash Fatality/Severe Injury and Proven Speed–Crash Relations

Abstract

The number of highway crash fatalities increased significantly in 2020 compared to the previous year, coinciding with the unique traffic conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. This research investigates the hypothesis that increased speeds, influenced by various factors during the pandemic, may have contributed to the elevated fatality rates. Speed is widely recognized as a critical factor affecting crash severity. To test this hypothesis, the research team analyzed speed changes and their relationships with fatal and serious injury crashes using Washington State data specifically from 2018 to 2020. The results showed that despite a reduction in total crashes and vehicle miles traveled in 2020, fatal and serious injury crash rates per million vehicle miles traveled increased compared to 2017 and 2018, indicating a shift toward higher-severity crashes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Average operating speeds increased across all facility types in 2020, with a corresponding decrease in speed variability, particularly on urban roadways, suggesting smoother but faster traffic flow during the pandemic. The findings confirm that increased operating speeds during the pandemic were associated with higher fatal and serious injury crash rates. The conclusion of this research could help highway safety planners and designers better understand relationships between speed increase and safety during the pandemic and, by planning to manage speed, could decrease fatalities resulting from highway crashes.