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The Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Mobility and Traffic Accidents: Evidence from Louisiana

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Abstract

We use a regression discontinuity design to study the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on mobility and traffic accidents. Based on data from Google Community Mobility reports and Uniform Traffic Crash Report from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LaDOTD), we find that the stay-at-home order led to a large decrease in traffic accidents (-47 percent). In particular, we find a large decrease in accidents involving injury (-46 percent), distracted drivers (-43 percent), and ambulances (-41 percent). We also find evidence of a change in the composition of accidents, with more incidents involving individuals aged 25 to 64, male, and nonwhite drivers. Interestingly, we find no impact on ambulance response time, despite lower traffic. Finally, we document a large decrease in mobility in Louisiana. Our results have important policy implications for traffic management policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen R. Barnes & Louis-Philippe Beland & Jason Huh & Dongwoo Kim, 2020. "The Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Mobility and Traffic Accidents: Evidence from Louisiana," Carleton Economic Papers 20-12, Carleton University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:car:carecp:20-12
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    Cited by:

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    2. Md Rakibul Islam & Mohamed Abdel-Aty & Zubayer Islam & Shile Zhang, 2022. "Risk-Compensation Trends in Road Safety during COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, April.
    3. Hai-Anh H. Dang & Trong-Anh Trinh, 2022. "The Beneficial Impacts of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Air Pollution: Evidence from Vietnam," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(10), pages 1917-1933, October.
    4. Camino-Mogro, Segundo & Armijos, Mary, 2020. "The effects of COVID-19 lockdown on Foreign Direct Investment: evidence from Ecuadorian firms," MPRA Paper 104821, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Caselli, Mauro & Fracasso, Andrea & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2020. "From the lockdown to the new normal: An analysis of the limitations to individual mobility in Italy following the Covid-19 crisis," GLO Discussion Paper Series 683, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Shahrin Islam & Armana Sabiha Huq & Sabah Hossain Iqra & Raas Sarker Tomal, 2023. "Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Road Safety in Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-22, February.
    7. Camino-Mogro, Segundo, 2020. "Turbulence in startups: Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on creation of new firms and its capital," MPRA Paper 104502, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Mauro Caselli & Andrea Fracasso & Sergio Scicchitano, 2022. "From the lockdown to the new normal: individual mobility and local labor market characteristics following the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 1517-1550, October.
    9. Bai, Xiwen & Xu, Ming & Han, Tingting & Yang, Dong, 2022. "Quantifying the impact of pandemic lockdown policies on global port calls," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 224-241.
    10. Lei, Yiyuan & Ozbay, Kaan, 2021. "A robust analysis of the impacts of the stay-at-home policy on taxi and Citi Bike usage: A case study of Manhattan," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 487-498.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Lockdown; Accidents; Traffic Management; Regression Discontinuity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R42 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government and Private Investment Analysis; Road Maintenance; Transportation Planning
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities

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