Samenvatting
The authors examined the effectiveness of state automobile safety inspections and present new evidence from a panel of the 50 states for the years 1981-1993. The approach incorporated several innovations over previous studies of safety inspections; most significantly, the authors estimated a fixed-effects model that incorporated state-specific shifts in casualty rates. They found no evidence that inspections significantly reduce fatality or injury rates. This study also provides evidence on the effects of speed limits, seat belts, and Peltzman's offsetting behaviour hypothesis. (A)