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

Stephen Barnes, Louis-Philippe Beland, Jason Huh and Dongwoo Kim

No 616, GLO Discussion Paper Series from Global Labor Organization (GLO)

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 Develop- ment (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.

Keywords: COVID-19; Lockdown; Accidents; Traffic Management; Regression Discontinuity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D62 H41 R20 R41 R42 R48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea, nep-tre and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Working Paper: The Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Mobility and Traffic Accidents: Evidence from Louisiana (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:glodps:616

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