Special Report (Update): Impact of COVID19 Mitigation on Numbers and Costs of California Traffic Crashes

Over the past few months, the U.S. has dealt with the impact of COVID19 pandemic to every part of our daily lives. As governors nationwide have issued stay at home or shelter in place orders, Americans have reduced road use and overall mobility. The University of California, Davis, Road Ecology Center produced an updated report on the impact that COVID19 has had on the number and costs of traffic collisions.

The study examined the “potential unintended impacts of the Governor’s shelter-in-place order on rates of collisions on California highways and certain major roadways patrolled by the California Highway Patrol.”

“The updated UC Davis Report on the Impact of COVID-19, on vehicle collisions in California, supports what ASA is hearing from our collision shops.  This new report is helpful in providing shops real time data on traffic and collisions.” commented ASA President Ray Fisher.  “As the only national automotive service trade association with a Washington, D.C. representative, these types of reports provide us factual information to advocate for the independent automotive repair facility, representing both collision and mechanical, on issues that they face day-to-day. We are especially appreciative for the timeliness of this report as we continue our efforts to increase help from the CARES Act that we have been advocating for.”