Citation

Baker RF. Accid. Anal. Prev. 1973; 5(4): 295-319.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1973, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The contention that is examined and documented in the following article is that the most critical issues in highway safety throughout the world are policy-related; that is, solutions are dependent upon policy commitments to achieve an optimum balance between risk, resources and mobility. Emphases on purely technological solutions and upon actions derived from emotional, intuitive policies are leading to large expenditures and disappointing results.For the 1966-1971 period, increases in expenditures for highway safety in the United States have been in the order of $10-$20 billion. Most of these costs have been borne by the highway user, not through taxation but through executive action based upon the 1966 Highway Safety Acts. While the fatality rate is lower per hundred-million vehicle-miles of travel, the total annual number killed on U.S. highways has increased from 53,000 to 56,000 from 1966 to 1972.A type of cost effectiveness approach is suggested, based upon specific policy goals in terms of maximum annual fatalities, available resources and desired mobility. It is argued that for a given level of resources, the greatest reduction in fatalities will be derived if funds are used to implement corrective measures that have the lowest cost per life saved.