COVID-19 Impacts on Speed and Safety for Minnesota Roads and Work Zones

Hawkins, Neal; Hallmark, Shauna; Knickerbocker, Skylar; Litteral, Theresa · 2021 · ROSA P / Minnesota. Department of Transportation

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Summary

This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on traffic speeds and safety across Minnesota, addressing concerns that reduced traffic volumes and strained law enforcement led to increased speeding and aggressive driving. Motivated by national trends showing higher speeds despite lower crash totals, the research quantifies changes in travel speeds, volume reductions, and crash outcomes by comparing data from 2019 to the pandemic period of March through December 2020. The researchers analyzed data from two primary sources: 27 Automated Traffic Recorder (ATR) sites with statewide coverage and 68 Traffic Sensor stations concentrated in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. Data completeness was strictly filtered, requiring scores above 90.3% for ATR sites and 90.4% for sensors. The analysis also included two specific work zones on I-35W and I-94. To handle large datasets, the team developed interactive analytical tools that visualized volume, average speed, and high-speed vehicle counts (defined as traveling >15 mph over the posted limit). Additionally, the study evaluated crash data from six Minnesota State Patrol districts and surveyed law enforcement officers regarding enforcement challenges. The findings indicate significant volume reductions, with maximum decreases of 38% for ATR sites and 47% for sensors in April 2020. Concurrently, average speeds increased across all sites, with peak monthly increases of 2.9% for ATR sites and 3.0% for sensors. High-speed behavior rose sharply; 69% of ATR sites showed an increase in the number of vehicles traveling more than 15 mph over the limit, and 88% showed an increase in the percentage of such vehicles. Regarding safety outcomes, speeding-related crashes increased by 2–5% in five districts and decreased by 1% in one. Speeding-related fatal and serious injury crashes rose by 4–13% in four districts, while decreasing by 1–4% in two. The study concludes that reduced traffic volumes during the pandemic correlated with higher average speeds and increased instances of extreme speeding in Minnesota. The developed interactive tools provide MnDOT and the Minnesota State Patrol with benchmarking capabilities to support future decision-making and enforcement strategies. The results underscore the need for continued monitoring of driver behavior during periods of low traffic volume to mitigate safety risks associated with speeding.

Key finding

Reduced traffic volumes during the pandemic were associated with increased average speeds and a higher percentage of high-speed vehicles across Minnesota roadways.

Methodology

dataset

Sample size: 125

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• work zones

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes, observational prevalence
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource