Road accidents impose a huge burden on the Australian community, estimated to be over $40 million per day, representing a major cause of death and disability. It is widely argued road users do not face a sufficient share of this cost burden to ensure that they will act in the community interest. This paper explores the source of the possible disparities between the interests of individuals and those of society—disparities that would generate external accident costs. This paper does not estimate the external costs of accidents. Rather, it reviews the range of definitions of external accident costs—from the popular to the theoretical—and examines the policy implications of each. The paper is aimed at promoting more critical discussion of this potentially significant component of road-user charges. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E213716.
Samenvatting