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Policy Ineffectiveness or Offsetting Behavior? An Analysis of Vehicle Safety Inspections

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  • Marc Poitras
  • Daniel Sutter

Abstract

Over 60 million registered motor vehicles in 20 states are subject to mandatory periodic safety inspection. The effect of safety inspection on roadway casualties has been estimated by several studies, with mixed results. We present a unique test of inspection effectiveness by analyzing the policy's impact on old cars in use and on repair industry revenue. Our results indicate that inspection has no significant impact on old cars or repair industry revenue, which implies that inspection does not improve the mechanical condition of vehicles. Unlike studies that examine casualties, our tests allow us to distinguish between policy ineffectiveness and Peltzman‐type offsetting behavior as sources of inspection failure.

Suggested Citation

  • Marc Poitras & Daniel Sutter, 2002. "Policy Ineffectiveness or Offsetting Behavior? An Analysis of Vehicle Safety Inspections," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 68(4), pages 922-934, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:68:y:2002:i:4:p:922-934
    DOI: 10.1002/j.2325-8012.2002.tb00466.x
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    1. Đorđe Vranješ & Bojan Marić & Tihomir Đurić & Goran Jovanov & Jovica Vasiljević & Nemanja Jovanov & Dunja Radović Stojčić, 2022. "Model for Sustainable Evaluation of the Impact of the Total Number of Centers for Technical Inspections of Motor Vehicles on the Occurrence and Consequences of Traffic Accidents in an Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-13, July.
    2. Luis Miguel Martín-delosReyes & Virginia Martínez-Ruiz & Mario Rivera-Izquierdo & José Pulido-Manzanero & Eladio Jiménez-Mejías & Pablo Lardelli-Claret, 2021. "Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Driving a Vehicle with Timed-Out Inspection Certificate in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Juan Pablo Montero-Salgado & Jose Muñoz-Sanz & Blanca Arenas-Ramírez & Cristina Alén-Cordero, 2022. "Identification of the Mechanical Failure Factors with Potential Influencing Road Accidents in Ecuador," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-27, June.

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