Citation

Peltzman S. J. Polit. Econ. 1975; 83(4): 677-726.

Affiliation

University of Chicago

Copyright

(Copyright © 1975, University of Chicago Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Technological studies imply that annual highway deaths would be 20% greater without legally mandated installation of various safety devices on automobiles.  However, this literature ignores offsetting effects of nonregulatory demand for safety and driver response to the devices.  This article indicates that these offsets are virtually complete, so that regulation has not decreased highway deaths.  Timeseries (but not cross section) data imply some saving of auto occupant's lives at the expense of more pedestrian deaths and more nonfatal accidents, a pattern consistent with optimal driver response to regulation.