Traffic infringements across the ACT soared by more than half last year despite the fact that the amount of traffic on the road fell dramatically because of the lock-down and working from home.

With less driving, there were many more speeding infringements. In July, at the height of the lockdown, police issued a record 733 speeding tickets.

Drink-driving did fall - but not by much. Canberrans may have been cooped up at home for long spells but that didn't stop them getting in their cars after too much to drink.

Interpreting figures like these can be tricky: did traffic offences soar because drivers behaved worse or did they rise because the police were more active?

It may be that the police were able to focus on traffic offences because other crimes were down.

Research in New South Wales showed a dramatic fall in a range of categories after the declaration of the coronavirus situation as an epidemic on March 11.

Stealing from stores, robbery, breaking and entering premises, sexual offences and thefts of and from cars all saw big drops.

The tentative conclusion was that police refocused on traffic offences.

But this can't be the whole explanation. The number of crashes in the ACT barely dropped last year and crashes were a clear indication of bad driving rather than extra enforcement.

The inevitable conclusion is that bad driving is part and parcel of the roads of the ACT.

And anyone who drives the roads of Canberra knows that.

Tail-gating is as much a part of Canberra life as watching the ducks on Lake Burley Griffin. Lane-hoppers seem to think gaining a second on the journey home is worth the danger they cause everybody else. The race to get in front when "form one lane" appears on the road would not be out of place on the grand prix circuit.

No one would have blamed the police if they had kept less of an eye on the road when traffic volumes were down. But they didn't, and they deserve praise for that.

Bad driving needs to be stopped. If bad drivers can't see the sense in that, stiff penalties might help them.