White Paper Effects of COVID-19 on Traffic Congestion, Driver Speed, and Vehicle Crashes in the Southern Nevada Region - Waycare
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White Paper
Effects of COVID-19 on Traffic Congestion,
Driver Speed, and Vehicle Crashes in the
Southern Nevada Region
August 10, 2020
Introduction Preliminary finds are summarized below with further
details and visualizations provided on the following
The following white paper identifies the effects of pages:
COVID-19 on traffic congestion, driver speed, and
vehicle crashes in the Southern Nevada region with Traffic Congestion:
a particular focus on Las Vegas. The study was • There was a 40% decrease in average hours of traffic
conducted during the timeframe of February through congestion on the roads surrounding the McCarran
June 2020 to capture the conditions prior to the stay- International Airport [Apr compared to Feb].
at-home orders and after they were lifted. • There was a 33% decrease in average hours of traffic
congestion on the roads surrounding the Las Vegas
Strip [Apr compared to Feb].
Sources of Data
Driver Speeds
Waycare is a cloud-based software that uses
• There was a 33.7% increase in average driver speeds
Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide comprehensive
on US-95 Southbound between Alexander Rd and
solutions for the traffic management industry. The
Jones [Mar 12 - May 8 compared to Feb 1 - Mar 11].
platform integrates data from various sources
• There was a 19.4% increase in average driver speed
including navigation apps, connected vehicles, road
on I-15 Northbound between Blue Diamond Road and
sensors, weather forecasts, and more. In this
Sahara [Mar 12 - May 8 compared to Feb 1 - Mar 11]
white paper, Waycare leveraged these 3rd party
• There was a 24.4% increase in average driver speeds
partnerships to supplement reports provided by the
on I-15 Southbound between Carey Avenue and
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern
Tropicana [Mar 12 - May 8 compared to Feb 1 - Mar 11].
Nevada (RTC), the Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP), and
the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT).
Crash Occurrences
• Between Mar 12 - May 8, there were ~68% fewer
Summary crashes in Las Vegas compared to the previous year.
During this period of time, Nevada was under a
Our primary findings suggest that the COVID-19 Declaration of Emergency and a subsequent stay-at-
pandemic led to a major decrease in both traffic home order went into effect.
congestion and crashes in Las Vegas. However, • Between May 9 - Jun 30, there were ~57% fewer
the average speed increased throughout observed crashes compared to the previous year. During
corridors, likely due to the reduced number of cars this period of time, a phased reopening process was
on the roads. Perhaps counter intuitively, the fatality underway.
rate among car crashes increased at the height of
the shutdown. Variables at play suggest a correla- Crash Fatalities
tion between speed and fatality during this period • Although the amount of traffic crashes was down,
as a result of drivers traveling at higher speeds. the fatality rate still increased by 1.49% in April.
2
Timeline of ➢ April 1
Governor Sisolak formally issued a stay-at-
COVID-19 home order and extended the closure of
schools, casinos, and other nonessential
Related Events businesses.
A timeline with certain dates marking significant events
has been constructed to serve as the parameters for ➢ May 9
this investigation:
Phase 1 of reopening was declared; bar-
bershops, salons, restaurants with limited
capacity, and open-air malls were among
➢ January 31
the first businesses allowed to reopen.
President Trump signed a proclamation
to suspend entry into the United States
of people who were physically present in
China over a 14-day period preceding their ➢ May 29
attempted entry. The proclamation took Phase 2 of reopening was announced; gyms,
effect Sunday, February 2. fitness facilities, spas, indoor malls, zoos,
movie theatres, art galleries, pools, and places
of worship with less than 50 people were
declared fit to reopen.
➢ February 29
Overall presence of COVID-19 cases was
too low to be detected in the U.S. through
emergency department syndromic surveil- ➢ June 4
lance data; few travel restrictions were in
The Gaming Industry reopened; casinos and
place outside of a complete travel ban for
resorts were permitted to operate with social
Iran and travel advisories for parts of Italy
distancing restrictions and required tempera-
and South Korea.
ture checks.
➢ March 12-20
Following the first reported case of COVID-19
in the state, on March 5th Governor Steve
Sisolak issued a Declaration of Emergency
to facilitate the State’s response to the
pandemic on March 12th. Five days later, a
statewide shutdown was put in place for
all non-essential businesses, including
casinos and hotels.
3
Traffic Congestion in the state brought the city’s main economic engine
to a complete standstill, for visitors and locals alike.
Nearly half of all visitors to Las Vegas arrive by plane.
The McCarran International Airport, located in Las In April, there was a 33% decline in the average hours
Vegas, NV, is the main airport for the Southern Nevada of traffic congestion on the roads surrounding the
region. In 2019, an average of 8.6 million passengers Las Vegas Strip, as referenced in Figure 2, compared
passed through the airport per month. Stay-at-home to just two months prior.
orders and closures of non-essential businesses
caused a drop in domestic travel. Figure 2 -
Difference in congestion hours between Feb 1-29 and April 1-29
near the Las Vegas Strip
As a result, traffic congestion surrounding the airport
fell drastically in the month of April, as seen in Figure
1. In its entirety, there was a 40% average decrease in
hours of congestion.
Figure 1 -
Difference in congestion hours between Feb 1-29 and April 1-29
near the McCarran International Airport
Driver Speeds
The stay-at-home orders created vast stretches of
largely empty roads that some drivers took advantage
of, leading to a marked increase in speeding violations;
a nationwide issue, reported by most major metropoli-
tan areas from Los Angeles to New York.
The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of roadway on South
As part of this study, Waycare made an assessment
Las Vegas Boulevard with a high concentration of
of speeds in the Southern Nevada Region along
resort hotels, casinos, and attractions. In 2019, an
Interstate 15 (I-15), a major throughway that intersects
average of 42.5 million people visited Las Vegas, with
Nevada from its origin point in Southern California to
most staying around the Strip. In addition, almost
the terminus in Montana. Figures 3 and 4 show that
100,000 people work in the resorts along the Strip.
there were considerable increases in speeding on
Their daily commute accounts for a large portion of
most segments studied.
peak congestion throughout the day. The shut down -
* Findings for congestion hours are based off of anonymized reports from the public’s use of personal navigation devices. Accuracy of the data is
subjected to the amount of users.
4
Figure 3 -
Average speed per location on weekdays difference between Feb 1-Mar 11 and Mar 12-May 8
I-15 North Bound (NB) I-15 North Bound (NB) I-15 South Bound (SB) US-95 South Bound (SB)
Segment 1 Segment 2
Average difference: +11.6 mph Average difference: -0.2 mph Average difference: +12.9 mph Average difference: +17.0 mph
(+19.4%) (-0.3%) (+24.4%) (+33.7%)
Feb 1-Mar 11 Mar 12-May 8
This time period was used as a baseline for comparison because it was prior to major This time period encompasses greater overall knowledge of the COVID-19 outbreak and
COVID-19 detections in the US and thus had relatively normal traffic conditions. thus stay-at-home measures and manditory closures.
Figure 4 -
Average speed per location on weekdays difference between Feb 1-Mar 11 and Mar 12-May 8 (located on I-15 NB)
hours hours
Average difference: +5.67 mph Average difference: +8.19 mph
(+10.1%) (+13.79%)
hours hours
Average difference: +8.47 mph Average difference: +0.07 mph
(+15.83%) (+0.1%)
Feb 1-Mar 11 Mar 12-May 8
This time period was used as a baseline for comparison because it was prior to major This time period encompasses greater overall knowledge of the COVID-19 outbreak and
COVID-19 detections in the US and thus had relatively normal traffic conditions. thus stay-at-home measures and manditory closures.
5
Crash Occurrences Non-essential businesses were shuttered, including
casinos - a major attraction and economic engine of
Governor Steve Sislak declared a formal State of the city.
Emergency for Nevada on March 12, 2020. As the
graph in Figure 5 illustrates, this began a steep Once the stay-at-home order was rescinded, an
decline in the amount of crashes within the City of uptick in traffic crashes was observed due to the
Las Vegas. Between March 12 and May 8, there was phased reopening in the region. Subsequently, a
a 68.2% reduction in crashes compared to the same considerable rise coincided with the return of opera-
month in 2019. The State of Emergency and the stay- tions within the casino/gaming industry: between
at-home order dramatically curbed travel activity for June 4 - June 30, there was an average of 24.61
the citizens of Nevada as well as incoming travelers. crashes per day, a 28% increase compared to the
previous 26 days.
Figure 5 -
Traffic Crashes Reported in City of Las Vegas from Feb 1 - Jun 30
Feb 1 - Mar 11 Mar 12 - May 8 May 9 - Jun 30
40.8 avg crashes per day 16.21 avg crashes per day 21.92 avg crashes per day
[-18.15% change from last year] [-68.20% change from last year] [-57.01% change from last year]
* As referenced on page 3, Phase 1 reopening included parks, restaurants, barbershops, and open air malls. Phase 2 of reopening included fitness and massage
facilities, spas, museums, galleries, and theatres.
6
Crash Fatalities Figure 7 illustrates a major increase in traffic-related
deaths reported during April 2020. While there were a
States around the U.S. reported more instances of total of seven fatalities on Las Vegas interstates
traffic-related fatalities during the time period that during the month of April, there was an average of two
stay-at-home orders were in effect. The loss of life fatalities each month during the three months prior
was frequently attributed to increased rates of speed. (January, February, March).
Waycare collected information on crashes report-
ed each month within the metropolitan limits of Las
Figure 7 -
Vegas, evaluating the data set for injury and fatality- Percentage of fatalities out of the total crashes per month
related outcomes.
The majority of traffic crashes that occurred in Las
Vegas between January and June involved no injury,
as seen in Figure 6. However, there was a notable
increase in the percentage of traffic fatalities.
Figure 6 -
Severity in percentages of traffic crashes between January - June
Jan 1 - Mar 11 Mar 12-May 8 May 9-June 1
7
Conclusions volumes. This resulted in a higher severity of the
crashes and in turn the unfortunate loss of life.
Based on the available evidence from the findings of
this study, we can make several inferences about the The findings from this study provide a window to
course of events during this period. re-examine the past in order to learn valuable lessons
and develop strategies for the future. Waycare hopes
In a city that is fueled by tourism, Las Vegas felt the that this white paper can shed light on certain areas
effects of the COVID-19 shut down acutely. While of regional traffic performance that could use
air travel never completely halted, there was a improvement. While the whole country makes the
severe reduction in commercial flights since necessary adjustments to live with this virus, it is
consumer demand fell sharply. Unsurprisingly, the important that traffic agencies make use of detailed
stay-at-home order led to a reduction in overall assessments and analyses such as this one to plan
congestion as there were fewer people leaving the for a safer future on the roads.
house, except for essential activities, ergo fewer cars
on the road.
Compared to the same period a year prior, it was
demonstrated that these orders also had an impact
on crashes as well. It would be reasonable to conflate
the reduction in overall traffic volume with a decrease
in crash occurrences. It is borne out in the findings
that the number of crashes rose in conjunction with
the resumption of normal traffic volumes once the
stay-at-home orders lifted.
Less congestion and fewer crashes would also lead
one to assume these conditions would correlate with
a drop in driver fatalities. In reality, there was a
consequential rise in the rate of fatal injuries during
the shutdown period. The hidden variable that
accounts for this disparity is speed. Roads, devoid
of commuters and tourists, were practically empty.
This emboldened some drivers to exceed safe limits
since they were no longer hindered by normal traffic -
8
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