As a result of the measures taken by the German government against the coronavirus pandemic, traffic on German motorways has decreased significantly. According to a German automobile club, congestion last week was over 50% less.
Although it would seem that it is impossible to find any positive effects of the coronavirus pandemic, a slight change to the better is observed on German motorways. Measures to combat the coronavirus crisis have affected the traffic in Germany. According to the German automobile club ADAC, there was a sharp drop in road traffic last week.
Two weeks ago, before the restrictions were introduced, there were 9,400 traffic jams with a total length of 14,500 kilometres, in which drivers lost 4,300 hours. Last week the number of traffic jams was less than 4,000 and their total length was about 4,900 km. Drivers lost ‘just’ 1,370 hours in them.
The reason for this is the drastically reduced mobility associated with the coronavirus pandemic, such as the relocation of workplaces to homes and the extremely limited possibilities for leisure activities,” the ADAC explained at a press conference in Munich.
“However, there are still huge traffic jams, with the majority of disruptions occurring due to stricter controls at border crossings,” admits the automobile club.
Nevertheless, according to ADAC experts, the number of traffic jams is likely to decrease further as the current far-reaching restrictions on mobility and gatherings (above 2 people), as well as access to leisure facilities, have only come into effect in the last week.
American trucks go faster
A similar situation is observed in the United States. Traffic density has decreased as a result of restrictions related to the spread of the pandemic. The American Transport Research Institute (ATRI) has published interesting data on truck traffic. The data show that trucks travel more than usual in the country, and at a higher speed than previously observed.
The real-time GPS data come from more than one million trucks and allow us to analyse the flow of cargo. So far in March, what we are seeing is an unprecedented level of truck movement,” said ATRI President and COO Rebecca Brewster. “As other traffic dissipates, trucks continue to move, delivering much-needed relief supplies to markets, hospitals, gas stations and other essential businesses,” Brewster said for sdexec.com
For example, at the intersection of I-85 and I-285 in Atlanta, known locally as Spaghetti Junction, afternoon rush hour truck speeds are typically less than 15 mph due to congestion. Last week, truck speeds averaged 53 mph.
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