As coronavirus empties streets, speeders hit the gas
Send a link to a friend
[April 15, 2020]
By Tina Bellon
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Empty roads in the
United States and Europe are tempting drivers to go out and shift into
high gear.
From Los Angeles to New York, London and Berlin, coronavirus lockdowns
have drained traffic from normally crowded roads. That has opened space
for drivers who want to defy police warnings and automated traffic
enforcement systems to go racing in the streets. In London and Los
Angeles, police said they have clocked drivers zooming down streets at
over 100 miles an hour(160 km/h).
Drivers are posting videos on social media to boast of races on empty
roads in Mexico and the U.S. states of Arizona and Texas. In addition to
the thrill of speeding, some drivers overestimate their abilities and
falsely believe that empty roads provide safety, according to police
officials.
Vehicle miles traveled, a standard industry metric to measure vehicle
volume and trip distances, has dropped in every U.S. county as of early
April, according to data by StreetLight Data, a transportation analytics
firm.
At the same time, average speeds measured during the first week of April
increased significantly in the five largest U.S. metropolitan areas.
According to data by transportation analytics firm INRIX, the average
speed on interstate highways, state highways and expressways in those
areas increased by as much as 75% compared to January and February and
somewhat or at times significantly exceeded the speed limit.
INRIX transportation analyst Bob Pishue said drivers in some U.S. cities
were seizing upon what they see as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to
increase speed. "It is unprecedented," he said.
In New York City, transportation officials reported an increase of more
than 60% in the amount of speed camera tickets issued in March compared
with the year-ago period. Preliminary city data suggests a similar trend
for the first week of April. At the same time, traffic was down more
than 90% compared with January in Manhattan, the city's central borough.
On Bruckner Boulevard in the city's Bronx borough, a road with a 30 mph
speed limit that made up a large share of speeding camera tickets, 5% of
drivers traveled faster than 43 mph in the first week of April,
according to INRIX data.
In Washington, D.C., where traffic has decreased some 80% in March
compared with January, according to StreetLight Data, officials have
recorded a 20% jump in March speeding tickets. Of those, violations
issued for driving 21-25 mph over the speed limit rose by nearly 40%.
[to top of second column]
|
A general view of freeways leading into downtown Los Angeles after
California issued a stay-at-home order due to coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 23, 2020.
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
Meanwhile, California Highway Patrol officials in Los Angeles have
taken to Twitter, urging road users to slow down by posting images
of rollover crashes and wrecked vehicles due to speeding on a nearly
daily basis.
"It's very common now to observe drivers speeding at around 100
mph," California Highway Patrol officer Robert Gomez said.
The Los Angeles Police Department said it is redeploying its
resources, establishing a high-speed street task force to position
officers at strategic roads. The city has also changed its traffic
signals sequence to avoid long stretches of green lights.
"Even though significantly fewer people are driving, the people that
are out there are putting vulnerable road users at higher risk,"
said David Ferry, a lieutenant in the traffic coordination section
of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Ferry pointed to LAPD data showing that while collisions and
fatalities decreased significantly overall in March, severe
collisions were declining at a lower rate.
Police officials in Europe are witnessing a similar trend.
London police on Tuesday released a video showing a driver speeding
at 150 mph (240 km/h) and officials said speeds on some roads had
nearly doubled over the weekend with some drivers taking advantage
of empty roads.
In Germany, police officials in the western state of North
Rhine-Westphalia, said about 30% of all vehicles exceeded speed
limits in March - compared with roughly 5-8% in a regular year.
Stefan Pfeiffer, a marshal with the Bavarian police in Southern
Germany, said drivers were tempted by the false sense of safety
conveyed by empty roads and warmer weather was luring inexperienced
motorcycle riders.
"While traffic safety presumably increases as fewer people are on
the road, individual drivers worsen the situation with their
irresponsible and at times completely reckless behavior," Pfeiffer
said.
(Reporting by Tina Bellon in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |