The rules of the road are not being followed by the few people that are venturing out in the cars, trucks and motorcyles in Philadelphia, the mayor said Thursday.
"With fewer cars on the roads, some people thoughtlessly think it’s okay to speed, make illegal movements or run red lights and stop signs," Mayor Jim Kenney said. "This unsafe behavior is starting to show up in our traffic data."
He pointed to three deaths in the last week, compared to three previous deaths all of April, as a sign that people are driving more recklessly on the near empty streets.
A recent study showed traffic declined by more than half in cities like San Francisco, Detroit and Seattle.
Kenney said drivers on congestion-free roads in Philadelphia showed a "dangerous side effect" of the coronavirus pandemic.
"That is the lack of residents obeying our traffic safety laws," he said.
