Law enforcement is a key component of many traffic management and control programmes and transport policies. The benefits from effective enforcement include safer roads, improved traffic flow, more effective traffic restraint programmes and better revenue protection. However, enforcement can incur a considerable cost and consumes scarce police, local authority or operational resources. In addition, in many cases, the organisations responsible for providing enforcement differ from those which benefit from improved levels of compliance. A strong case exists for attempting to identify the economic costs and benefits of enforcement within the transport sector and to optimise the allocation of enforcement resources. Halcrow Fox and Cranfield University recently undertook a project for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to develop an economic framework for optimising the enforcement of transport laws. The paper describes the principal elements of this work, including: (1) details of the economic framework for minimising the social costs of various traffic and transport offences; (2) case studies in which the framework was applied and tested; and (3) policy implications of the work, including methods of prioritising enforcement activity at an operational level, and means of influencing the annual budget setting procedures of bodies concerned with enforcement. The case studies referred to in the paper concern: (1) speeding; (2) drink driving; (3) illegal parking; and (4) fare evasion. The paper concludes that adoption of a more formal, economic approach to the allocation of enforcement resources improves the performance of transport and traffic policies, generates better value for money and generally improves the quality of decision-making within the transport sector.
Abstract