Overall Number Of Connecticut Motor Vehicle Accidents Decrease, BUT…

November 16, 2020
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A group of researchers from the Connecticut Children’s Injury Prevention Center (IPC) looked at traffic data from post-pandemic and compared it to pre-pandemic numbers to come up with some interesting statistics that relate to New Haven auto accidents and those throughout the state.  There was good news in these numbers, but also some troubling news as well.

Let’s start with the good news.  In the post-pandemic world miles traveled were reduced during the height of the stay-at-home orders by 40%.  The decrease in traffic volume led to an overall reduction in motor vehicle accidents and the average number of accidents that occurred daily.  These are good statistics to note, but they don’t tell the whole story.

Researchers compared the same time frames in 2020 to those in 2017, 2018, and 2019 to draw some conclusions.  Here’s what they found:

So, what do researchers attribute this seemingly good news/bad news finding to?  Based on media reporting and other similar study findings, researchers believe that the reason there were more single vehicle crashes and fatalities in the post-pandemic world is that with lower traffic volume often comes increased speed which has been known to lead to more accidents and fatalities.    Also, there was a reported lower police presence on roads during the stay-at-home orders.

Given that more stay-at-home orders may be on the horizon, it’s important to keep this study top of mind when on the roads, realizing that less traffic volume should not equal greater speed.

If you or a loved one were injured in an a New Haven auto accident, one of our experienced attorneys can review your case and work to protect your long-term interests.