Impact of COVID-19 on fatal crashes in Australia
2020 has been a year like no other for road travel in Australia. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of the year led governments to impose restrictions on the movement of people in all Australian states and territories by March. With people allowed to leave home only for specified essential purposes, it quickly became obvious to the casual observer that vehicular traffic flows were greatly reduced across much of the network, and congestion had all but disappeared. By August, as restrictions were gradually being eased across much of Australia, a second and much larger wave of infections led to the imposition of even tighter restrictions on travel in Victoria. With vehicular travel greatly reduced, there were hopes for a reduction in crashes, deaths and injuries on the roads. Reduced road travel implies fewer opportunities for road users to be involved in crashes. So was the reduction in motor vehicle use accompanied by a corresponding reduction in road trauma? The Australia and New Zealand Driverless Vehicle Initiative (ADVI) commissioned the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) to investigate changes in road travel and road trauma during the lockdown period, and the links between them. This article provides a brief account of the findings.
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Authors:
- CATCHPOLE, J
- Naznin, F
- Publication Date: 2020-12
Language
- English
Media Info
- Pagination: 29-33
- Serial:
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Crash analysis; Fatalities; Modal shift; Traffic flow; Travel behavior
- Geographic Terms: Australia
- ATRI Terms: Crash analysis; Fatality rate; Modal shift; Traffic flow; Travel behaviour
- Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01763382
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: ARRB Group Limited
- Files: ATRI
- Created Date: Feb 4 2021 10:28AM