The temporal and spatial relationships between professional sport events and reported vehicular crashes: an analysis of Cleveland, Ohio

ABSTRACT Road safety is one of the world’s greatest public health challenges, with more than 3,500 deaths on the roads each day and estimated 50 million injuries annually (World Health Organization, 2021). This study explores the relationship between professional sporting events and vehicular crashes by examining crash data, game times, and venues using longitudinal data from Cleveland, Ohio (2017–2019). We employ two multivariate modeling analyses and spatial statistical techniques to examine the extent to which sporting events are related to car crashes before, during, and after events and the spatial relationship between where the venues are located and the number of crashes. The temporal analyses (n = 28,260) show that crashes with damage reported a significant increase, particularly after the more attended NFL games. Meanwhile, a spatial analysis (n=741) shows that the location of the sports venue also demonstrates associations with the number of crashes, while the significance varies across spatial distances. From a scholarly perspective, our study identifies the relationship between sports events and car crashes nearby sports venues, which adds to the broader literature on vehicular crashes and society. Practically, addressing this relationship can provide a concise strategy for both the public and private sectors to reduce car crashes. HIGHLIGHTS We explore the relationship between sporting events and vehicular crashes. Crashes with damage particularly increase after NFL games nearby the stadium. We find a non-linear relationship between distances from sport venues to vehicle crash rates. Neighborhoods adjacent but not next to stadiums have higher crash rates. Findings contribute to the growing literature on the externalities of sports.