Task 6


Examining COVID-19 and Transportation Safety

The focus of this task is to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on transportation safety in North Carolina. There is some anecdotal evidence that speeding has increased. In addition, analysis from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has indicated that the percentage of crashes that are fatal have increased during the pandemic although the number of crashes has reduced. This investigation will examine the effect of COVID-19 on the following: single and multi-vehicle crashes; crashes by severity; pedestrian and bicycle crashes; and speeding-related crashes.

The investigation will be conducted at both the county level and corridor/segment level using crash data from NCDOT. Exposure data will include vehicle miles traveled at the county level and traffic volume data from the permanent count stations in North Carolina.

Lead Researchers:

Raghavan (Srini) Srinvasan, Ph.D.
Senior Transportation Research Engineer, UNC Highway Safety Research Center
srini@hsrc.unc.edu
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Wes Kumfer, Ph.D.
Engineering Research Associate, UNC Highway Safety Research Center 
srini@hsrc.unc.edu
View bio

Katherine (Katie) Harmon, Ph.D.
Engineering Research Associate, UNC Highway Safety Research Center 
harmon@hsrc.unc.edu
View bio

Research Team

  • Bo Lan, UNC Highway Safety Research Center
  • Tab Combs, Department of City and Regional Planning, UNC-CH
  • Randa Radwan, UNC Highway Safety Research Center