90mph on the Freeway Has Never Been So Easy

As the COVID-19 pandemic keeps getting worse, the bustling public life has come to a halt. On 13th March 2020, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in response to the exponential growth in cases of Covid-19.

After the declaration of emergency, states called for a shelter-at-home order, which significantly reduced the number of people going out of their houses. There were several changes made that allowed people and students to stay-at-home without worrying about their work or studies.

Therefore, this led to a state where only a few vehicles were spotted on the road. While this change may lead many to believe that it would mean a safer driving environment, studies conducted by Allstate’s telematics and Teletrac Navman show you a different picture.

Speeding

Speeding has increased a lot since the pandemic was declared. The mileage driven by various commercial automobiles has decreased by 20%. This aspect has made people speed up considerably beyond the speed limit.

The number of vehicles has decreased, making the roads less congested and more vacant. This has led people to go way past their normal speeding limits.

When the lockdown commenced, there was panic amidst the general public for necessities like toilet paper and groceries. This growing level of anxiety and agitation had led to more people violating the speed threshold.

According to a survey done by Teletrac Navman, it was observed that the number of miles traveled over the declared speed limit has increased by 17%. Moreover, this increase in speeding has also increased the number of harsh cornering events.

Problems Due to Speeding Incidents

You must already be aware that an increase in speed raises the probability of causing an accident. Although the number of vehicles has decreased due to this pandemic, the danger of encountering a harsh disaster is still present. Being Fresno car accident lawyers, Steven P. Roberts Injury Lawyers have stated, “Some of the common car accident injuries include driving over the speed limit, driving under the influence of alcohol, being distracted while driving, failing to obey traffic signals and signs, making an improper turn and failing to yield the right-of-way.”

There is absolutely no valid reason for you to drive above the specified speed limits. Additionally, these new cases of elevated speeding have given rise to other side-effects as well.

• Many people have almost completely stopped following the traffic rules. It was observed that the vehicles not staying at the ‘stop’ sign has increased by 10%.
• There has been one positive effect on less busy roads. The cases of harsh braking events have drastically decreased by 54%.

Wrapping Up

It’s quite evident that this pandemic has severely affected the driving habits of many individuals. This change can also be attributed to the mental panic and turmoil that people are going through in these tough times.

As the death rates are increasing, the mental health of people is also deteriorating because of the monotony of their daily schedule. In this state of disruption, it’s understandable for you to feel the need to drive faster and to get to your destination quicker than others.

Nevertheless, the truth of this situation is that panic can only make it worse. You are trying to increase your speed because you see vacant roads but getting to your nearest retail center as fast as you can would never make this pandemic better for anyone. Hence, it’s better to stay safe and drive as per the rules and regulations.