Citation

Andriola C, Chitturi M, Cheng Y, Noyce DA. Transp. Res. F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 2024; 101: 340-353.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.trf.2024.01.009

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on mobility worldwide, specifically through stay-at-home orders. There is a general consensus in the literature regarding the reduction of traffic during that period, and a trend toward increased speeds. However, the literature is still scarce regarding the pandemic's long-term and site-specific effects on traffic volumes and speed behavior. In this context, the present study looks at speed and traffic volume data, using several temporal and spatial filters to isolate the effect of the pandemic from other elements that can influence speeds, such as congestion, construction, weather, and faulty detector data. Data from Wisconsin for the stay-at-home period in 2020 and corresponding time periods in 2019 and 2021 were used. Traffic volume and speed were analyzed using descriptive and inferential (Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test and Mann Whitney U Test) statistics. While the results for traffic showed the expected reduction in 2020 in relation to other years, speeds also showed a reduction in 2020 for eight of the twelve analyzed locations, most of these rural areas. Furthermore, the results show a return of speeds to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, associated with the partial or complete recovery of traffic volumes.

Language: en

Keywords

Covid-19; Driver behavior; Speed behavior; Traffic volumes