What stats tell us about road safety in the time of COVID-19
Speeding charges up, but with open roads, fewer crashes, Lorraine Sommerfeld writes.
The COVID-19 lockdown is revealing some interesting changes on our roads.
Between March 23 and April 27 of 2019, there were an estimated 5,537 speeding charges laid by Toronto Police Services. For the same stretch of time this year, that number has increased to about 6,908 charges.
With all of our roads having the lowest volumes of traffic in recent memory, it’s not surprising that more drivers feel the call of the open road — and put their boot into it when they get out there.
While speed is always cited as the No. 1 cause of collisions, consider this: collisions last year in that time frame were reported at 7,309.
This year? 1,535.
Yes, speeding drivers cause collisions. But it seems if you can just get everybody else out of the way, they cause fewer of them.
There’s a reason so many insurance companies have punted a little money back to their policy holders; if they’re not paying it out, they should be paying it back. Go to your company’s website and see if they’re doing anything.
Of course, the vacant streets also have provided the asphalt canvas for the Ricky Racers intent on having their Youtube moment in the spotlight: stunt driving charges have gone from 32 last year to 222 this year in that same time period. It seems many can’t resist, even if it costs them a lot of money in fines now, even more later for insurance, and, of course, an impound of their vehicle.
It’s not just drivers. Three young male skateboarders took over parts of Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway on May 1. Their viral video made them momentary superstars — and also allowed police to identify and charge them.
“Skateboarding on a Prohibited Highway” is a thing, and the charge is $110.
I don’t skateboard, but I can see the pull of a marvellous arc of an off-ramp with no cars in sight. Yes, it’s stupid. Still looks like fun.
Police would like to remind everyone that pedestrians, cyclists and skateboarders are all prohibited from being on highways and expressways.
“We are seeing more and more of these grandstanding and publicity-seeking stunts. The Toronto Police do not condone this behaviour and will investigate those who choose to act in this way,” TPS said in an official release.
I asked Sgt. Brett Moore of Toronto Police Services if there’s been a shift in attitudes among drivers to go along with the big change in those numbers.
“There is less of almost everything right now, except for speeding,” he said.
“Less congestion equals less stress, for sure. Everyone is talking about it, traffic reports have never been so short and for those who need to, commutes into TO have never been more pleasant.”
The changes on our streets are proving beneficial to other road users, too. Serious collisions resulting in fatalities (driver/ passenger, pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist) have dropped from 17 to seven.
Many of us have been walking more lately, and I’m wondering if examining our own neighbourhoods from a slower pace has changed anything.
Maybe more of us walking and cycling will make us more careful drivers.
Maybe we’ll start to remember that every one of us is under stress and a little kindness goes a long way.
The story, of course, will be watching to see if any of these behavioural shifts stay. Wouldn’t it be amazing if the carnage on our roadways could remain in a downshift, something positive to come out of these stunning times?