Assessing Road Traffic Safety During COVID-19: Inequality, Irregularity, and Severity

TL;DR

This study examines how COVID-19 has impacted traffic safety in Los Angeles and New York City, revealing disparities among demographic groups, shifts in accident hotspots, and persistent severity of severe accidents during the pandemic.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of traffic accident patterns during COVID-19, highlighting inequality, irregularity, and severity trends across different demographic and spatial groups.

Findings

Disproportionate impact on certain demographic groups

Shifted accident hotspots in time and space

Severity of accidents remained high despite overall decrease

Abstract

COVID-19 is affecting every social sector significantly, including human mobility and subsequently road traffic safety. In this study, we analyze the impact of the pandemic on traffic accidents using two cities, namely Los Angeles and New York City in the U.S., as examples. Specifically, we have analyzed traffic accidents associated with various demographic groups, how traffic accidents are distributed in time and space, and the severity level of traffic accidents that both involve and do not involve other transportation modes (e.g., pedestrians and motorists). We have made the following observations: 1) the pandemic has disproportionately affected certain age groups, races, and genders; 2) the "hotspots" of traffic accidents have been shifted in both time and space compared to time periods that are prior to the pandemic, demonstrating irregularity; and 3) the number of non-fatal accident cases has decreased but the number of severe and fatal cases of traffic accidents remains the same under the pandemic.