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Speed limit enforcement and road safety

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  • Bauernschuster, Stefan
  • Rekers, Ramona

Abstract

We study the impact on road safety of one-day massive speed limit monitoring operations (SLMO) accompanied by media campaigns that announce the SLMO and provide information on the dangers of speeding. Using register data on the universe of police reported accidents in a generalized difference-in-differences approach, we find that SLMO reduce traffic accidents and casualties by eight percent. Yet, immediately after the SLMO day, all effects vanish. Further evidence suggests that people drive more slowly and responsibly on SLMO days to avoid fines; providing information on the dangers of speeding does not alter speeders' driving behavior in a sustainable way.

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  • Bauernschuster, Stefan & Rekers, Ramona, 2022. "Speed limit enforcement and road safety," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:210:y:2022:i:c:s0047272722000652
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2022.104663
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    2. Soliz, Aryana & Carvalho, Thiago & Sarmiento-Casas, Claudio & Sánchez-Rodríguez, Jorge & El-Geneidy, Ahmed, 2023. "Scaling up active transportation across North America: A comparative content analysis of policies through a social equity framework," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    3. Metz-Peeters, Maike, 2023. "The Effects of Mandatory Speed Limits on Crash Frequency - A Causal Machine Learning Approach," Ruhr Economic Papers 982, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen, revised 2023.
    4. Nehiba, Cody & Tyndall, Justin, 2023. "Highways and pedestrian deaths in US neighborhoods," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    5. Mika Sutela & Nino Lindstrom, 2024. "A game theoretic approach to lowering incentives to violate speed limits in Finland," Papers 2402.09556, arXiv.org.
    6. Martti Kaila, 2024. "How Do People React to Income-Based Fines? Evidence from Speeding Tickets Discontinuities," CESifo Working Paper Series 11064, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Traffic; Law enforcement; Safety; Accidents;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H76 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other Expenditure Categories
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

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