Dramatic Rise in Serious Car Accidents Despite Less Traffic: Pandemic Mental Health

With so many people working from home during the pandemic, you might expect the number of serious injury and fatal car accidents to fall precipitously. But statistics have proven the opposite.

Earlier this year local Seattle news began reporting on the paradox of fewer car crashes but more deaths. In January, the Seattle Times reported that “Seattle recorded the second highest number of people killed in traffic-related crashes in a decade last year.”

In February, King 5 reported that statewide, “fatal and serious injury crashes actually increased in 2020 compared to the five-year rolling average from previous years.” In August 2020, Washington roads registered 61% more fatalities than in August 2019. Why? Among many possible causes, “What WSDOT found is that more walkers and bikers are getting hit by cars and are seriously injured or killed.”

Now, statistics have become worse, and the causes more apparent and concerning.

This month the LA Times compiled more data: 38,680 deaths on U.S. roadways last year - the most since 2007. Why? In short, “The latest evidence suggests that after decades of safety gains, the pandemic has made U.S. drivers more reckless — more likely to speed, drink or use drugs and leave their seat belts unbuckled.” And it may not go away any time soon: “Experts say that this behavior on the road is likely a reflection of widespread feelings of isolation, loneliness and depression.” More specifically, “The rise in motor vehicle deaths lines up with other pandemic-era trends: Alcohol sales have soared, drug overdoses have set new records, and homicides have seen their biggest increase on record.”

These changes are widespread: “Fatalities are up in cities and rural areas. They’ve spiked on highways and back roads. They’ve risen during the night and the day, weekdays and weekends. They climbed in every age group between 16 and 65.”

Some statistics point toward a disparate impact on people of color, who proportionally represent a higher percentage of the essential workforce, including delivery drivers: “the death rate for Black people rose more than three times faster than the death rate overall, a disparity that could reflect a deeper sense of despair in the poorer communities hit hardest by the pandemic.”

The pandemic has created an unprecedented “sea change in psychology,” with tragic results.

The pandemic and other factors have also impeded access to mental health care, even for those prepared to seek it out. This article by Seattle Times reporter Hannah Furfaro details the barriers in obtaining mental health care, and identifies resources that can help.