IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hae/wpaper/2020-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Pedestrian Deaths and Large Vehicles

Author

Listed:
  • Justin Tyndall

    (University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Department of Economics, University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization)

Abstract

Traffic fatalities in the US have been rising among pedestrians even as they fall among motorists. Contemporaneously, the US has undergone a significant shift in consumer preferences for motor vehicles, with larger Sport Utility Vehicles comprising an increased market share. Larger vehicles may pose a risk to pedestrians, increasing the severity of collisions. I use data covering all fatal vehicle collisions in the US and exploit heterogeneity in changing vehicle fleets across metros for identification. Between 2000 and 2018, I estimate that replacing the growth in Sport Utility Vehicles with cars would have averted 1,100 pedestrian deaths. The largest Sport Utility Vehicles appear particularly culpable for pedestrian deaths.

Suggested Citation

  • Justin Tyndall, 2020. "Pedestrian Deaths and Large Vehicles," Working Papers 2020-4, University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
    • Handle: RePEc:hae:wpaper:2020-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://uhero.hawaii.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/UHEROwp2004.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2020
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jackson, C. Kirabo & Owens, Emily Greene, 2011. "One for the road: Public transportation, alcohol consumption, and intoxicated driving," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 106-121.
    2. van Benthem, Arthur, 2015. "What is the optimal speed limit on freeways?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 44-62.
    3. Basili, Marcello & Belloc, Filippo, 2021. "The deterrent effect of “Vehicular Homicide Laws”: Microeconometric evidence from Italy," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    4. Green, Colin P. & Heywood, John S. & Navarro, María, 2016. "Traffic accidents and the London congestion charge," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 11-22.
    5. Shanjun Li, 2012. "Traffic safety and vehicle choice: quantifying the effects of the ‘arms race’ on American roads," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 34-62, January.
    6. Green, Colin P. & Heywood, John. S. & Navarro, Maria, 2014. "Did liberalising bar hours decrease traffic accidents?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 189-198.
    7. Carpenter, Christopher S. & Stehr, Mark, 2008. "The effects of mandatory seatbelt laws on seatbelt use, motor vehicle fatalities, and crash-related injuries among youths," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 642-662, May.
    8. Ang, Amanda & Christensen, Peter & Vieira, Renato, 2020. "Should congested cities reduce their speed limits? Evidence from São Paulo, Brazil," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    9. Oviedo-Trespalacios, Oscar, 2018. "Getting away with texting: Behavioural adaptation of drivers engaging in visual-manual tasks while driving," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 112-121.
    10. Giulietti, Corrado & Tonin, Mirco & Vlassopoulos, Michael, 2020. "When the market drives you crazy: Stock market returns and fatal car accidents," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    11. Michael L. Anderson & Maximilian Auffhammer, 2014. "Pounds That Kill: The External Costs of Vehicle Weight," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(2), pages 535-571.
    12. Edmond L. Toy & James K. Hammitt, 2003. "Safety Impacts of SUVs, Vans, and Pickup Trucks in Two‐Vehicle Crashes," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(4), pages 641-650, August.
    13. Benjamin Hansen, 2015. "Punishment and Deterrence: Evidence from Drunk Driving," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(4), pages 1581-1617, April.
    14. Ruhm, Christopher J., 1996. "Alcohol policies and highway vehicle fatalities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 435-454, August.
    15. Ted Gayer, 2004. "The Fatality Risks of Sport-Utility Vehicles, Vans, and Pickups Relative to Cars," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 103-133, March.
    16. Emily Oster, 2019. "Unobservable Selection and Coefficient Stability: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 187-204, April.
    17. Anderson, Michael, 2008. "Safety for whom? The effects of light trucks on traffic fatalities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 973-989, July.
    18. Peltzman, Sam, 1975. "The Effects of Automobile Safety Regulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 83(4), pages 677-725, August.
    19. Baughman, Reagan & Conlin, Michael & Dickert-Conlin, Stacy & Pepper, John, 2001. "Slippery when wet: the effects of local alcohol access laws on highway safety," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 1089-1096, November.
    20. Bourgeon, Jean-Marc & Picard, Pierre, 2007. "Point-record driving licence and road safety: An economic approach," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1-2), pages 235-258, February.
    21. Borsati, Mattia & Cascarano, Michele & Bazzana, Flavio, 2019. "On the impact of average speed enforcement systems in reducing highway accidents: Evidence from the Italian Safety Tutor," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    22. Crandall, Robert W & Graham, John D, 1989. "The Effect of Fuel Economy Standards on Automobile Safety," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(1), pages 97-118, April.
    23. Anderson, Michael L. & Auffhammer, Maximillian, 2014. "Pounds that Kill," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt0s47p33c, University of California Transportation Center.
    24. Blattenberger, Gail & Fowles, Richard & Loeb, Peter D., 2013. "Determinants of motor vehicle crash fatalities using Bayesian model selection methods," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 112-122.
    25. Karaca-Mandic, Pinar & Ridgeway, Greg, 2010. "Behavioral impact of graduated driver licensing on teenage driving risk and exposure," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 48-61, January.
    26. Steven D. Levitt & Jack Porter, 2001. "How Dangerous Are Drinking Drivers?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 109(6), pages 1198-1237, December.
    27. White, Michelle J, 2004. "The "Arms Race" on American Roads: The Effect of Sport Utility Vehicles and Pickup Trucks on Traffic Safety," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 47(2), pages 333-355, October.
    28. Van Ommeren, Jos & Rietveld, Piet & Zagha Hop, Jack & Sabir, Muhammad, 2013. "Killing kilos in car accidents: Are external costs of car weight internalised?," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 2(2), pages 86-93.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Justin Tyndall, 2024. "The Effect of Front-end Vehicle Height on Pedestrian Death Risk," Working Papers 2024-1, University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
    2. Sanders, Rebecca L. & Schneider, Robert J. & Proulx, Frank R., 2022. "Pedestrian fatalities in darkness: What do we know, and what can be done?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 23-39.
    3. Nehiba, Cody & Tyndall, Justin, 2023. "Highways and pedestrian deaths in US neighborhoods," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    4. Charles Dearman & James Milner & Glenn Stewart & Giovanni S. Leonardi & John Thornes & Paul Wilkinson, 2023. "Sports Utility Vehicles: A Public Health Model of Their Climate and Air Pollution Impacts in the United Kingdom," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(11), pages 1-22, June.
    5. Jack Stilgoe & Miloš Mladenović, 2022. "The politics of autonomous vehicles," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-6, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aney, Madhav S. & Ho, Christine, 2019. "Deadlier road accidents? Traffic safety regulations and heterogeneous motorists’ behavior," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 155-171.
    2. Lauren E. Jones & Nicolas R. Ziebarth, 2017. "U.S. Child Safety Seat Laws: Are they Effective, and Who Complies?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(3), pages 584-607, June.
    3. Justin Tyndall, 2024. "The Effect of Front-end Vehicle Height on Pedestrian Death Risk," Working Papers 2024-1, University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
    4. Nehiba, Cody & Tyndall, Justin, 2023. "Highways and pedestrian deaths in US neighborhoods," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    5. Tscharaktschiew, Stefan, 2020. "Why are highway speed limits really justified? An equilibrium speed choice analysis," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 317-351.
    6. Nehiba, Cody, 2020. "Taxed to death? Freight truck collision externalities and diesel taxes," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    7. R. Brau & M. G. Nieddu & S. Balia, 2021. "Depowering Risk: Vehicle Power Restriction and Teen Driver Accidents in Italy," Working Paper CRENoS 202101, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    8. Mark R. Jacobsen, 2012. "Fuel Economy and Safety: The Influences of Vehicle Class and Driver Behavior," NBER Working Papers 18012, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Van Ommeren, Jos & Rietveld, Piet & Zagha Hop, Jack & Sabir, Muhammad, 2013. "Killing kilos in car accidents: Are external costs of car weight internalised?," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 2(2), pages 86-93.
    10. Michael L. Anderson & Maximilian Auffhammer, 2014. "Pounds That Kill: The External Costs of Vehicle Weight," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(2), pages 535-571.
    11. Liu, Yizao, 2017. "Safer or cheaper? Traffic safety, vehicle choices and the effect of new corporate average fuel economy standards," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 99-112.
    12. Liang, Yuanning, 2020. "Do Safety Inspections Improve Safety? Evidence from the Safety Inspection Program for Commercial Motor Vehicles," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304312, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Castillo-Manzano, José I. & Castro-Nuño, Mercedes & Fageda, Xavier, 2016. "Exploring the relationship between truck load capacity and traffic accidents in the European Union," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 94-109.
    14. Anderson, Michael, 2008. "Safety for whom? The effects of light trucks on traffic fatalities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 973-989, July.
    15. Scott Adams & Chad Cotti & Nathan Tefft, 2013. "Seatbelt Use Following Stricter Drunk Driving Regulations," Working Papers 22, University of Connecticut, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Charles J. Zwick Center for Food and Resource Policy.
    16. Tscharaktschiew, Stefan, 2016. "The private (unnoticed) welfare cost of highway speeding behavior from time saving misperceptions," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 7, pages 24-37.
    17. Marcos Y. Nakaguma & Brandon J. Restrepo, 2018. "Restricting access to alcohol and public health: Evidence from electoral dry laws in Brazil," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 141-156, January.
    18. Staubli, Stefan & Muehlenbachs, Lucija & Chu, Ziyan, 2017. "The Accident Externality from Trucking," CEPR Discussion Papers 12314, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Cheng Keat Tang & Jos van Ommeren, 2022. "Accident externality of driving: evidence from the London Congestion Charge [Pounds that kill: the external costs of vehicle weight]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(3), pages 547-580.
    20. Sebastian Martinez & Raul Sanchez & Patricia Yañez-Pagans, 2019. "Road safety: challenges and opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 28(1), pages 1-30, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Transportation; Safety; Health; Traffic Fatalities; Externalities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R42 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government and Private Investment Analysis; Road Maintenance; Transportation Planning
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hae:wpaper:2020-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: UHERO (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/heuhius.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.