Provisional statistic says amount of traffic has decreased by 44% from last March

ZANESVILLE – The decrease is taken from March of this year and compared to March of 2019.

This drop-off can be found in Muskingum County and the largest contributing factor is the pandemic.

“So, there has been a reduction in crashes. Even in Muskingum County, we’re seeing a reduction in crashes, mainly, you know, because of Corona Virus and the state’s stay at home order. I think that probably has a lot to do with it,” Ohio Highway Patrol Trooper Bryce A. Nihiser said.

Although there is a sharp decrease from last year, Nihiser says there is a number of factors to the accidents that State Troopers see.

“Distracted driving is a major contributing factor to crashes along with unsafe speed, failure to control, things like that,” Nihiser said.

“When the stay at home order lifts, Nihiser said drivers need to remember to be aware of their speed and their surrounding so the number of crashes in Ohio can continue to decrease.