Citation

Semmens J, Kresich D. J. Transp. Res. Forum 1987; 28(1): 187-193.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1987, Transportation Research Forum)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Public policy over the last two decades has proceeded on the basis that compelling improvements in vehicles and driver behavior is the best means of enhancing highway safety. While narrow focus analyses of the specific effects of specific regulations in specifically defined circumstances produces positive inferences on the efficacy of compulsory safety measures, a broader focus casts some doubt on the over all results. The presence of a long term decline in the traffic accident rate confounds a simple before-and-after comparison of accident statistics. The question remains as to whether the number of accidents or fatalities per passenger mile of travel would have declined anyway. Further there is the prospect that the expenditure of resources on a specific safety measure may merely transfer the risk rather than simply reducing risk. The paper examines some of the critical evidence from a broader perspective in order to better determine what the actual effects of compulsory safety regulations are, and whether more voluntary and market-based approaches would produce a safer environment for those who value safety highly.