How did Covid-19 restrictions impact traffic safety on Czech rural roads?

Abstract The spread of the Covid-19 pandemic brought a series of restrictions, leading to changes in mobility and traffic safety. The present study investigated the impact of restrictions stringency index on flow, speed, and safety in a sample of Czech rural roads. Compared to previous studies, it used a longer time frame and two sources of traffic data (traditional Automatic Traffic Counter – ATC and novel Floating Car Data – FCD), but especially it used more willingness-to-drive factors: not only the stringency index but also fuel price and weather conditions. The statistical modelling revealed that the crash frequency was influenced by flow, crash severity was influenced by both flow and speed, while both flow and speed were influenced by willingness-to-drive factors. Additionally, it was shown that flow and speed were more responsive to weather conditions than the stringency index itself. Last but not least, the combination of two data sources was beneficial as it showed the specific suitability of ATC for traffic flow modelling and FCD for speed modelling.