This book deals with a research on traffic accidents. It focuses on the question which combination of liability, insurance and safety regulation will lead to an optimal prevention of traffic accidents and an optimal compensation of traffic victims at the lowest possible costs. Prevention focuses on the economic aim of minimising the social costs of traffic accidents. Compensation focuses on the question in which way traffic victims can be compensated. This research aims at providing an additional contribution to the Dutch discussion on traffic liability by focusing, next to compensation, on prevention and costs. The problem is defined on the basis of a judicial analysis and an economic analysis which together with the empirical analysis of the economic model form the basis for the review of the law and related propositions. In the judicial analysis, attention is drawn to Dutch traffic liability, and from a comparative perspective on traffic liability in France and Belgium. In the economic analysis, the research is based on the economic model of accident law and focuses on how the law can influence the behaviour of the parties involved in traffic accidents. Verifications are thereby made whether the legal instruments from the problem influence in theory the prevention and compensation of traffic accidents. As it is important to compare the theoretical conclusion of the economic analysis with the practical experience, subsequently critical attention will be paid to empirical research on traffic accidents. In this way, it is possible to judge if the law, in the form of liability regulation, insurance conditions and safety regulation, can be of actual influence on traffic behaviour and the number of traffic accidents. (A)
Abstract