Pandemic left mark on roads as traffic deaths rose

Washington — Traffic fatalities increased nationally last year despite a significant drop in travel because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic, which has killed nearly 500,000 Americans, also altered the dynamics of road safety, with some drivers taking open lanes as an invitation for reckless driving, transportation and law enforcement officials say.

The steady frequency of serious crashes — even after roads emptied at the start of the pandemic — was discouraging for transportation agencies that, in recent years, promised road improvements to reduce highway fatalities and better protect pedestrians and bicyclists who share the road with cars.

Across the country, 38,370 people were killed in highway crashes from January through November 2020, up 7% compared with the same period in 2019, according to preliminary federal data analyzed by the National Safety Council. December numbers aren’t yet available.

While Americans drove less because of stay-at-home orders and increased telecommuting, the fatality rate per mile driven rose 24% last year, according to the council’s analysis. Meanwhile, the number of miles driven nationwide decreased by 15%.

“We should be able to show a significant safety benefit from having less traffic,” the National Safety Council said in a statement last month. “Instead, in the midst of the worst health crisis in more than a century, we are experiencing even deadlier roadways.”

Experts cited speeding and aggressive, distracted and impaired driving as the primary causes for the increase.

A rise in speeding and reckless behavior last year alarmed police and road safety groups across the nation, prompting increased patrols on some highways and renewed calls for drivers to slow down.

“You had the open roads and the lack of enforcement and drivers behaving badly and dangerously,” said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association.