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Summertime and the drivin’ is easy? Daylight saving time and vehicle accidents

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  • Laliotis, Ioannis
  • Moscelli, Giuseppe
  • Monastiriotis, Vassilis

Abstract

We investigate how exogenous variation in daylight caused by Daylight Saving Time affects road safety as measured by the count of vehicle crashes. We use administrative daily data from Greece covering the universe of all types of recorded vehicle accidents during the 2006–2016 period. Our regression discontinuity estimates support an ambient light mechanism that reduces the counts of serious vehicle accidents during the Spring transition and increases the count of minor ones during the Fall transition. The effects are driven from the hour intervals that are mostly affected from seasonal clock changes. We then discuss the potential cost implications of those seasonal transitions. In light of the talks about abolishing seasonal clock changes in the European Union (EU), our findings are policy relevant and can inform the public debate as empirical evidence for the block is scarce.

Suggested Citation

  • Laliotis, Ioannis & Moscelli, Giuseppe & Monastiriotis, Vassilis, 2023. "Summertime and the drivin’ is easy? Daylight saving time and vehicle accidents," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 119374, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:119374
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/119374/
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    1. Austin C. Smith, 2016. "Spring Forward at Your Own Risk: Daylight Saving Time and Fatal Vehicle Crashes," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(2), pages 65-91, April.
    2. Christopher J. Ruhm, 2000. "Are Recessions Good for Your Health?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(2), pages 617-650.
    3. Laliotis, Ioannis & Stavropoulou, Charitini, 2018. "Crises and mortality: Does the level of unemployment matter?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 99-109.
    4. J. M. C. Santos Silva & Silvana Tenreyro, 2006. "The Log of Gravity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(4), pages 641-658, November.
    5. Toro, Weily & Tigre, Robson & Sampaio, Breno, 2015. "Daylight Saving Time and incidence of myocardial infarction: Evidence from a regression discontinuity design," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 1-4.
    6. Christian Bünnings & Valentin Schiele, 2021. "Spring Forward, Don't Fall Back: The Effect of Daylight Saving Time on Road Safety," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 103(1), pages 165-176, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lorenzo Codogno & Paul Noord, 2022. "Assessing Next Generation EU," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Luigi Paganetto (ed.), Economic Challenges for Europe After the Pandemic, pages 59-82, Springer.
    2. Nower, Michael, 2024. "Losing sleep at the international market: Daylight Saving Time and exchange rates," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    3. Stefano Castriota & Mirco Tonin, 2023. "Stay or flee? Hit-and-run accidents, darkness and probability of punishment," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 117-144, February.
    4. Tobias Tesche, 2020. "The European Union's response to the coronavirus emergency: an early assessment," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 157, European Institute, LSE.
    5. Dimitry Kochenov, 2020. "Genuine Purity of Blood: The 2019 Report on Investor Citizenship and Residence in the European Union and its Litigious Progeny," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 164, European Institute, LSE.
    6. Gerard Delanty, 2020. "Six political philosophies in search of a virus: Critical perspectives on the coronavirus pandemic," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 156, European Institute, LSE.
    7. Bob Hancke & Toon Van Overbeke & Dustin Voss, 2021. "Similar but different? Comparing economic policy responses to the Corona Crisis in the UK and Germany," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 165, European Institute, LSE.
    8. Nina Lopez Uroz, 2020. "Populism Amidst Prosperity: Poland's Growth Model and its Socio-Political Outcomes," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 159, European Institute, LSE.
    9. Depalo, Domenico, 2023. "Should the Daylight Saving Time be abolished? Evidence from work accidents in Italy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    10. Mitchell Orenstein & Bojan Bugaric, 2020. "Populism Amidst Prosperity: Work, Family, Fatherland: The Political Economy of Populism in Central and Eastern Europe," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 163, European Institute, LSE.
    11. Richard Bronk & Wade Jacoby, 2020. "The epistemics of populism and the politics of uncertainty," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 152, European Institute, LSE.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    daylight saving time; regression discontinuity; vehicle accidents;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • 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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