This book examines transportation safety from the perspective of the causes of and deterrents to transportation accidents. The investigation is across transportation modes, both commercial and private. Public policy for improving transportation safety is generally developed unimodally -- the safety of one mode is examined in isolation from that of other modes. This investigation should enhance our understanding for developing effective multimodal public policies for improving transportation safety. Chapter 1 provides an introduction. In Chapter 2, causes of highway accidents are examined. Chapter 3 discusses the effectiveness of various deterrent policies for auto accidents. Chapter 4 addresses truck accidents. Causes related to the driver, the vehicle, the highway, and the environment are investigated. Chapter 5 considers air accidents, Chapter 6 addresses recreational boating accidents with particular attention being given to alcohol involvement, Chapter 7 examines commercial vessel accidents, and Chapter 8 considers rail accidents with particular attention being given to deterrent policies. The final chapter, Chapter 9, summarises lessons learned from the previous chapters for improving transportation safety. (Author/publisher)
Abstract