LESS CONGESTION LEADS TO FEWER BUT MORE SEVERE ACCIDENTS With fewer people on the roads during peak driving times, accident frequency fell, but speeds traveled increased. Many municipalities reported handing out speeding tickets for drivers exceeding 100 miles per hour, with higher accident rates despite fewer vehicles on the road overall. Numerous analyses completed by CCC during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed a change was occurring within the types of damage among the smaller number of auto claims. Specifically, there was a measurable increase both in the percent of appraisals flagged non-driveable (Figure 2). Beginning in mid-March 2020, the percent of overall appraisals that were non-driveable and the percent flagged total loss were two to four percentage points higher than the same week in both CY 2018 and CY 2019. A comparison of the average preliminary estimate amount by week in CY 2018-2020 also shows repair costs trending higher through most of the year (Figure 3). The average estimate amount for collision/liability losses increased 3.6 percent between CY 2018 and CY 2019 but increased 4.9 percent between CY 2019 and CY 2020. Additionally, a shift in the share of overall appraisal volume by primary impact by quarter in CY 2020 for collision and liability losses further supports the premise that driving during COVID-19 has been different. Figure 4 shows how volume share for rear impacts was substantially lower during Q2-Q4 2020 when compared to the same quarters in CY 2018 or CY 2019. JULY AUGUST 2021 || FIXED OPS MAGAZINE 53