Global yearly deaths on roads are ~1.35mil (source).
In the US (well, 23 states) there was a 6% drop in the first 6 months of the year (source—see table halfway down). Naive approximation gives 81k lives saved globally if this turns out to be the yearly average.
Alternative calculation: In the max lockdown month(s) deaths were down ~40-70% (Various European countries, Turkey, UK). Assuming 2 months of severe lockdown this would give 124k lives saved.
Claim: The decrease in driving during the lock down has significantly increased air quality (https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-covid19-air-pollution-enviroment-nature-lockdown) , saving many lives. Seeing as we’re dealing with a respiratory disease, the increase in air quality has probably saved even more lives than it would otherwise.
Related claim: the decrease in driving has reduced traffic fatalities, saving many more lives.
Global yearly deaths on roads are ~1.35mil (source).
In the US (well, 23 states) there was a 6% drop in the first 6 months of the year (source—see table halfway down). Naive approximation gives 81k lives saved globally if this turns out to be the yearly average.
Alternative calculation: In the max lockdown month(s) deaths were down ~40-70% (Various European countries, Turkey, UK). Assuming 2 months of severe lockdown this would give 124k lives saved.