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Dead on Arrival: Zero Tolerance Laws Don’t Work

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  • Darren Grant

    (Department of Economics and International Business, Sam Houston State University)

Abstract

By 1998 all states had passed laws lowering the legal blood alcohol content for drivers under 21 to effectively zero. Theory shows these laws have ambiguous effects on overall fatalities and economic efficiency, and the data show they have little effect on driver behavior. A panel analysis of the 1988-2000 FARS indicates that zero tolerance laws have no material influence on the level of fatalities, while quantile regression reveals virtually no change in the distribution of BAC among drivers involved in fatal accidents.

Suggested Citation

  • Darren Grant, 2007. "Dead on Arrival: Zero Tolerance Laws Don’t Work," Working Papers 0708, Sam Houston State University, Department of Economics and International Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:shs:wpaper:0708
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    File URL: http://www.shsu.edu/academics/economics-and-international-business/documents/wp_series/wp07-08.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    10. Darren Grant, 2007. "Optimal Drunk Driving Penalty Structure," Working Papers 0707, Sam Houston State University, Department of Economics and International Business.
    11. Carpenter, Christopher, 2004. "How do Zero Tolerance Drunk Driving Laws work?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 61-83, January.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Zheng, Emily Yiying, 2018. "Can technology really help to reduce underage drinking? New evidence on the effects of false ID laws with scanner provisions," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 102-112.
    2. Bellou, Andriana & Bhatt, Rachana, 2013. "Reducing underage alcohol and tobacco use: Evidence from the introduction of vertical identification cards," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 353-366.
    3. Grant, Darren, 2016. "The essential economics of threshold-based incentives: Theory, estimation, and evidence from the Western States 100," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 180-197.
    4. Erik Nesson & Vinish Shrestha, 2021. "The effects of false identification laws on underage alcohol‐related traffic fatalities," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(9), pages 2264-2283, September.
    5. Silvia Bruzzone & Stefano Castriota & Mirco Tonin, 2021. "Points Or Prison? The Effects Of Different Sanctions On Driving Behavior," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 39(1), pages 126-140, January.
    6. Abboud, Tatiana & Bellou, Andriana & Lewis, Joshua, 2019. "The Long-Run Impacts of Adolescent Drinking: Evidence from Zero Tolerance Laws," IZA Discussion Papers 12833, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Darren Grant, 2010. "The Simple Economics of Thresholds: Evidence from the Western States 100," Working Papers 1004, Sam Houston State University, Department of Economics and International Business.
    8. Christopher S. Carpenter & Carlos Dobkin & Casey Warman, 2016. "The Mechanisms of Alcohol Control," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 51(2), pages 328-356.
    9. D. Mark Anderson & Benjamin Hansen & Daniel I. Rees, 2013. "Medical Marijuana Laws, Traffic Fatalities, and Alcohol Consumption," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(2), pages 333-369.
    10. Andrés Ramasco, 2023. "Not a Sip: Effects of Zero Tolerance Laws on Road Traffic Fatalities," Working Papers 289, Red Nacional de Investigadores en Economía (RedNIE).
    11. Anderson, D. Mark & Rees, Daniel I., 2012. "Per Se Drugged Driving Laws and Traffic Fatalities," IZA Discussion Papers 7048, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Anderson, D. Mark & Rees, Daniel I., 2015. "Per se drugged driving laws and traffic fatalities," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 122-134.
    13. Erik Nesson & Vinish Shrestha, 2016. "The Effects of False Identification Laws with a Scanner Provision on Underage Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities," Working Papers 2016-17, Towson University, Department of Economics, revised Apr 2020.
    14. Marco Francesconi & Jonathan James, 2022. "Alcohol Price Floors and Externalities: The Case of Fatal Road Crashes," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(4), pages 1118-1156, September.
    15. Huber III Arthur & Newman Rebecca & LaFave Daniel, 2016. "Cannabis Control and Crime: Medicinal Use, Depenalization and the War on Drugs," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 16(4), pages 1-35, October.
    16. Richard Guy Cox & Darren Grant, 2017. "Traffic Safety and Human Capital," Working Papers 1701, Sam Houston State University, Department of Economics and International Business.
    17. Andrés García-Echalar & Tomás Rau, 2020. "The Effects of Increasing Penalties in Drunk Driving Laws—Evidence from Chile," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-16, November.
    18. D. Mark Anderson & Sina Sandholt, 2019. "Are Booster Seats More Effective than Child Safety Seats or Seat Belts at Reducing Traffic Fatalities among Children?," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 5(1), pages 42-64, Winter.
    19. Donald Freeman, 2012. "Income and Preventable Mortality: The Case of Youth Traffic Fatalities," Working Papers 1201, Sam Houston State University, Department of Economics and International Business.
    20. Freeman, Donald G., 2012. "Is Beer Safer than Spirits? How the Change in Consumption Shares of Alcoholic Beverage Types Affects Traffic Mortality in Young People," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 61(04), pages 1-11, November.
    21. Darren Grant, 2021. "Understanding the Decline in Drinking and Driving During “The Other Great Moderation”," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(4), pages 876-907, December.
    22. Freeman, Donald G., 2012. "Is Beer Safer than Spirits? How the Change in Consumption Shares of Alcoholic Beverage Types Affects Traffic Mortality in Young People," Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, vol. 61(4).
    23. Anderson, D. Mark & Sandholt, Sina, 2016. "Booster Seats and Traffic Fatalities among Children," IZA Discussion Papers 10071, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    24. Darren Grant & William B. Green, 2009. "The Simple Economics of Thresholds: Grades as Incentives," Working Papers 0901, Sam Houston State University, Department of Economics and International Business.
    25. Grant, Darren, 2016. "A structural analysis of U.S. drunk driving policy," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 14-22.

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    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law
    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory

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