Life and death in the fast lane : police enforcement and traffic fatalities.

Author(s)
DeAngelo, G. & Hansen, B.
Year
Abstract

This paper estimates the causal effect of police on traffic fatalities and injuries. Due to simultaneity, estimating the causal effect of police on crime is often difficult. The authors overcome this obstacle by focusing on a mass layoff of Oregon State Police in February of 2003, stemming from changes in property tax assessment in the prior decade. Due solely to budget cuts, 35 percent of the roadway troopers were laid off, which dramatically reduced citations. The subsequent decrease in enforcement is associated with a significant increase in injuries and fatalities, with the strongest effects under fair weather conditions outside of city-limits where state police employment levels are most relevant. The effects are similar using control groups chosen either geographically or through data-driven methods. Estimates suggest that a highway fatality can be prevented with $309,000 of expenditures on state police. (Author/publisher)

Request publication

6 + 0 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

Publication

Library number
20190365 ST [electronic version only]
Source

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Vol. 6 (2014), No. 2 (May), p. 231-257, 35 ref.

Our collection

This publication is one of our other publications, and part of our extensive collection of road safety literature, that also includes the SWOV publications.