This terrifying possibility became a reality when a recent study revealed just how common car crashes can be if you’re driving with COVID-19. This threat is similar to the dangers associated with driving while intoxicated (DWI). American Vision University physician-professor Baran Erdik led the research. Specifically, it indicates that the virus increased crash risk by 25%. This shocking figure serves as a reminder that COVID-19 is still a deadly threat. It’s as unacceptable now as running a red light or driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08%.
The big macro-level study, which looked at statewide crash data from 14 states. These states—Texas, Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia and Washington—represent the years 2020 through 2023. In particular, it tracked COVID-19 test results and positivity rates. This new analysis showed a direct connection between the virus and an increase in traffic deaths. Our analysis showed how deadly COVID-19 has been, inflating traffic deaths by a staggering 17%. Those impacts, combined from May 2020 to the end of 2022, resulted in nearly 17,000 more deaths.
Throughout the pandemic, public health officials observed that people who contracted COVID-19 were less likely to drive. This behavior had the unintended effect of reducing crash rates in states with strict mask mandates like Connecticut. In these areas, longer-term mask mandates were associated with longer durations of reduced traffic deaths.
The report’s key findings provide more detail about how COVID-19 played a role in increasing crash rates. It appears to have affected safer driving behaviors that might mitigate increased risk. Researches call for immediate, further examination of these trends. They argue that sweeping public health measures to curb the pandemic have had both positive and negative impacts on health and transportation safety.
Given these results, the study calls for creative solutions to this pervasive problem to improve driver safety. As one example, the proposal adds screening for long COVID to the license renewal process. This protects public safety by ensuring that drivers are medically qualified to operate vehicles safely. Recommendations like this one highlight the need to acknowledge the larger effects of the pandemic on both public health and roadway safety.
A new study published today in PLOS Global Public Health sheds light on this urgent problem. It highlights the immediate need to address the pandemic’s impact on transportation equity. In addition, COVID-19 has dramatically changed the environment for traffic incidents. State and local officials need to leverage these lessons learned in order to inform lasting public safety policy change moving forward.
