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Give me 3': Do minimum distance passing laws reduce bicyclist fatalities?

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  • Nehiba, Cody

Abstract

Safely integrating bicyclists onto roadways in the United States has become an important issue as the number of cyclists has steadily increased in recent decades. These concerns have led many city and state legislatures to pass laws requiring drivers to provide a minimum amount of distance between their vehicle and cyclists when passing them on roadways. Many believe these laws are ineffective in reducing the number of bicyclist fatalities because they are difficult for police to enforce, contain loopholes, and the minimum distance required is inadequate. This paper tests this claim empirically using data on 18,534 bicyclist fatalities from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and a differences-in-differences approach, in a negative binomial model, to identify the effect of minimum distance passing laws on bicyclist fatalities. The analysis fails to find a significant effect of enacting a minimum distance passing law on the number of cyclist fatalities after controlling for differences in weather, demographics, bicycling commuter rates, state level traffic, and time variation.

Suggested Citation

  • Nehiba, Cody, 2018. "Give me 3': Do minimum distance passing laws reduce bicyclist fatalities?," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 9-20.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecotra:v:14:y:2018:i:c:p:9-20
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecotra.2017.12.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Karimah, Indra Degree & Yudhistira, Muhammad Halley, 2020. "Does small-scale port investment affect local economic activity? Evidence from small-port development in Indonesia," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bicycling; Road safety; Traffic fatalities; Passing laws;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • R42 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government and Private Investment Analysis; Road Maintenance; Transportation Planning
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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