Have you wondered whether all that working from home might have reduced the number of traffic fatalities in 2020?
No such luck.
The Arkansas State Police’s Highway Patrol Division was still compiling the full-year statistics last week, but this much was clear: 2020 was significantly deadlier on Arkansas’ roadways than typical.
A preliminary analysis came up with 618 fatalities, which compares unfavorably with fewer than 500 in each of the previous three years. The last year in which more than 600 people died in Arkansas traffic accidents was 2007.
Why the big increase last year?
“There’s no clear-cut answer for this anomaly,” State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said in an email. “Even if you took the time to drill into each investigative report it would be impossible to explain why, other than speed, following too close, or other common contributing factors found in crash investigations.”
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