Speeds could be up due to less traffic density, people even more distracted. Could also be the same base rate suicide by car crash. I'd be interested to know if the fatality rate involving big trucks and passenger vehicles has changed. It could be that the fatality rate per truck mile is a constant independent of the number of passenger vehicles on the road.

With proper data sets, all of this should just fall out.

Speeds are definitely up. There's a "30 mph" road near me with a stretch that's as long and straight and remote as any highway, and even the cops are driving >50mph there now. Normally it's packed (it connects two high-density areas) so you're lucky to get near 30mph.

Sounds a bit like my street. It isn't remote, but originally developed as large 2 acre lots with far setbacks. Now a lot of infill has occurred but most homes still sit farther from the road than a typical residential neighborhood, so it feels more rural than it is.

It's signed 25mph. Normal speeds are about 30-35mph. Now, every morning starting about 5:30am, drivers are using it as their own personal drag strip trying to lay down their best 0-60 times.

Police don't really seem to care.

More uber eats drivers are rushing the streets.

Among my outings in LA, people are driving like absolute crap. Speeding to every red light, going 100 mph on the freeway, no turn signals, no one checks their blind spots, lots of swerving so maybe a lot of drunk driving, too. Every 10 minute drive I see 6 near misses.

I live on the other side of the country. I am an essential worker so I've been on the roads every day since lockdown. I am terrified of the reckless driving happening nowadays. I am considering mailing lawmakers, something really has to be done.

you're making a fundamental attribution error[0]: that people are fixed in their predisposition for safe driving rather than being situationally influenced.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_attribution_error

Is there a bias for attributing incidents to situation over personality a bias as well? Aka is the opposite bias existent?

the opposite bias is possible in theory, but practically irrelevant. the fundamental attribution error derives from being social animals--that we care endlessly about what other people are doing and why (to predict, and shape, the social future).

the opposite--over-attributing to the situation--typically happens to deceive (e.g., shirk responsibility), rather than being an intrinsic bias of our social environment like the fundamental attribution error is.

Probably not significant to the increase, but night shift people are usually essential workers and get in more crashes.