Shift to working from home ‘saved lives’ during Storm Eunice

Strong winds and heavy rain from Storm Eunice caused dangerous conditions on the roads, with three people killed.

Millions of drivers heeded warnings to stay off the roads when Storm Eunice hit, new figures show (Kirsty O’Connor/PA) (PA Wire)

Millions of drivers heeded warnings to stay off the roads when Storm Eunice hit, new figures show.

The RAC said “lives were saved” as the Department for Transport revealed that car traffic in Britain fell to 69% of pre-coronavirus pandemic levels on Friday February 18, down from 91% during the previous day.

Strong winds caused by Storm Eunice caused dangerous conditions on the roads, with three people killed in incidents involving fallen trees and other debris.

Several major road bridges were closed, including both crossings over the River Severn between England and Wales, and the Queen Elizabeth II bridge, which is part of the Dartford Crossing linking Essex and Kent.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams believes the reduction in traffic limited the number of fatalities.

Millions of motorists heeded the warnings to only drive if absolutely essential

Simon Williams, RAC

He said: “These statistics show that lives were saved as millions of motorists heeded the warnings to only drive if absolutely essential.

“It seems like all the developments around working from home in the pandemic made a massive difference in an extreme weather event like Storm Eunice as many employees clearly were able to stay off the road and continue being productive away from their workplaces.”

Provisional figures show that train travel fell to 59% of pre-virus levels on Friday February 18, down from 65% a day earlier.

Bus use outside London decreased from 72% to 44% over the same period.