Changes in the Number of Traffic Accidents, Injuries and Deaths Under Movement Restrictions Due to the Spread of COVID-19

Abstract

Analyzing changes in traffic accidents nationwide for the roughly three years from January 2018 to November 2020 using existing statistical data, the number of accidents, the number of injuries, and the number of deaths all decreased over the years. After the emergence of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the number of traffic accidents and the number of injuries decreased significantly during the state of emergency. However, no significant decrease in the number of road fatalities was observed during the state of emergency. Thus, it was considered that restricting the movement of people to prevent the spread of infectious diseases reduces the number of traffic accidents and the number of injuries, but does not lead to the suppression of fatal traffic accidents.