COVID-19 lockdown and traffic accidents: Lessons from the pandemic

We use a regression discontinuity design to study the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on traffic accidents. Based on administrative data from Louisiana, we find that the lockdown order led to a significant decrease in traffic accidents (-47%), including accidents involving injury (-46%) and ambulance (-41%). We also find evidence of heterogeneous changes in the decline of drivers involved in accidents, with a smaller decline among individuals aged 25 to 64, male, and nonwhite drivers.