Various strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 including lockdown and stay-at-home order are expected to reduce road traffic characteristics and consequently road traffic collisions (RTCs). We aimed to review the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence, patterns, and severity of the injury, management, and outcomes of RTCs and give recommendations on improving road safety during this pandemic. We conducted a narrative review on the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on RTCs published in English language using PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar with no date restriction. Google search engine and websites were also used to retrieve relevant published literature, including discussion papers, reports, and media news. Papers were critically read and data were summarized and combined. Traffic volume dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic which was associated with significant drop in RTCs globally and a reduction of road deaths in 32 out of 36 countries in April 2020 compared with April 2019, with a decrease of 50% or more in 12 countries, 25 to 49% in 14 countries, and by less than 25% in six countries. Similarly, there was a decrease in annual road death in 33 out of 42 countries in 2020 compared with 2019, with a reduction of 25% or more in 5 countries, 15–24% in 13 countries, and by less than 15% in 15 countries. In contrast, the opposite occurred in four and nine countries during the periods, respectively. There was also a drop in the number of admitted patients in trauma centers related to RTCs during both periods. This has been attributed to an increase in speeding, emptier traffic lanes, reduced law enforcement, not wearing seat belts, and alcohol and drug abuse. The COVID-19 pandemic has generally reduced the overall absolute numbers of RTCs, and their deaths and injuries despite the relative increase of severity of injury and death. The most important factors that affected the RTCs are decreased mobility with empty lines, reduced crowding, and increased speeding. Our findings serve as a baseline for injury prevention in the current and future pandemics.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行对道路交通事故的全球影响

减少 COVID-19 传播的各种策略（包括封锁和居家令）预计将减少道路交通特征，从而减少道路交通碰撞 (RTC)。我们的目的是回顾 COVID-19 大流行对 RTC 伤害的发生率、模式和严重程度、管理和结果的影响，并就改善本次大流行期间的道路安全提出建议。我们使用 PubMed、Scopus 和 Google Scholar（无日期限制）以英语发布了关于 COVID-19 大流行对 RTC 的影响的叙述性回顾。谷歌搜索引擎和网站也被用来检索相关已发表的文献，包括讨论论文、报告和媒体新闻。论文被批判性地阅读，数据被总结和组合。COVID-19 大流行期间交通量急剧下降，这与全球 RTC 大幅下降以及 2020 年 4 月 36 个国家/地区中的 32 个国家/地区道路死亡人数较 2019 年 4 月减少有关，其中 12 个国家/地区下降了 50% 或更多14 个国家为 25% 至 49%，6 个国家为 25% 以下。同样，与 2019 年相比，2020 年 42 个国家中有 33 个国家的年度道路死亡人数下降，其中 5 个国家下降了 25% 或以上，13 个国家下降了 15-24%，15 个国家下降了不到 15%。国家。相比之下，在此期间分别有四个和九个国家出现了相反的情况。这两个时期内，与 RTC 相关的创伤中心收治的患者人数也有所下降。这是由于超速、车道空旷、执法力度减弱、不系安全带以及酗酒和吸毒等现象的增加。尽管受伤和死亡的严重程度相对增加，但 COVID-19 大流行总体上减少了 RTC 的总体绝对数量及其死亡和受伤人数。影响 RTC 的最重要因素是空线路导致流动性下降、拥挤程度减少以及超速增加。我们的研究结果可以作为当前和未来大流行中伤害预防的基线。