Fewer vehicles were on the road during much of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And fewer vehicles on the road equals fewer crashes.

According to 2019 and 2020 data from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), vehicle crashes in rural counties decreased from 33,078 in 2019 to 28,048 in 2020, a 15 percent decline. In urban counties there was a 17 decline during this period.

Despite the decrease in overall crashes, there was an increase in statewide fatal crashes from 2019 to 2020. Statewide fatal vehicle crashes increased from 990 in 2019 to 1,060 in 2020, a statistica...