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Citation |
Shilling F, Waetjen D. University of California at Davis, Road Ecology Center. Davis, California, USA: University of California at Davis, Road Ecology Center, 2020. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright 2020, University of California at Davis, Road Ecology Center) |
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Abstract |
Using observations of reported traffic incidents in our real-time "California Highway Incident Processing System" (CHIPS), the Road Ecology Center found reduced numbers of crashes, including injury/fatal crashes, on state highways and rural roads that has resulted from Governor Newsom's "shelter in place" order. We estimate that since the order went into effect, collisions and especially injury and fatality collisions have been reduced by half, from ~1,000 crashes and ~400 injury/fatal crashes per day to 500 and 200 per day, respectively. These reductions have resulted in a savings to the public of about $40 million/day, or $1 billion since the order went into effect. Charts showing the change in crashes, including injury/fatal crashes can be seen here: https://roadecology.ucdavis.edu/resources/stayathome-crashes. Simultaneous to the reduction in injury crashes, there were fewer people treated by Sacramento region hospitals and trauma centers for crash-related injuries. We found that traffic volumes were up to 55% lower on certain highways after the order compared to a similar period prior to the order, which may account for the reduced number of collisions. We also found that maximum and average traffic speeds increased slightly on certain highways, but only by a few mph. When Southern California experienced heavy, record-breaking rains in early April, there was a brief return to "normal" levels of crashes. We highlight collision and injury/fatality hotspots on California highways since the shelter in place order went into effect and for a similar period in 2019. All data were derived from California Highway Patrol incident reports. This report includes maps of incident hotspots, and discusses this unexpected benefit of the shelter in place order. |