IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ebl/ecbull/eb-21-00589.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Traffic safety and norms of compliance with rules: An exploratory study

Author

Listed:
  • Hélène Laurent

    (University of Namur, Namur, Belgium)

  • Marc Sangnier

    (University of Namur, Namur, Belgium)

  • Carole Treibich

    (Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, INRAE, Grenoble INP, GAEL, Grenoble, France)

Abstract

We use a simple model of drivers' vigilance effort choice to show that drivers' propensity to follow traffic rules has two opposite effects on road safety. On the one hand, it lowers the frequency of dangerous situations. On the other hand, it also reduces drivers' vigilance effort as each driver anticipates that dangerous situations will be less frequent. These two opposite effects may lead to a non-monotonic relationship between compliance with road rules and the incidence of road traffic accidents. We present cross-country estimates that support the existence of a bell-shaped relationship between norms of compliance with rules and traffic fatalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Hélène Laurent & Marc Sangnier & Carole Treibich, 2021. "Traffic safety and norms of compliance with rules: An exploratory study," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(4), pages 2464-2483.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-21-00589
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2021/Volume41/EB-21-V41-I4-P213.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Algan, Yann & Cahuc, Pierre & Sangnier, Marc, 2011. "Efficient and Inefficient Welfare States," IZA Discussion Papers 5445, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Jo Thori Lind & Halvor Mehlum, 2010. "With or Without U? The Appropriate Test for a U‐Shaped Relationship," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 72(1), pages 109-118, February.
    3. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc & Marc Sangnier, 2016. "Trust and the Welfare State: the Twin Peaks Curve," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(593), pages 861-883, June.
    4. Ruhm, Christopher J., 1996. "Alcohol policies and highway vehicle fatalities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 435-454, August.
    5. Michael Grimm & Carole Treibich, 2013. "Determinants Of Road Traffic Crash Fatalities Across Indian States," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(8), pages 915-930, August.
    6. Boyer, Marcel & Dionne, Georges, 1987. "The economics of road safety," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 413-431, October.
    7. Trond Nordfjærn & Stig Jørgensen & Torbjorn Rundmo, 2011. "A cross-cultural comparison of road traffic risk perceptions, attitudes towards traffic safety and driver behaviour," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(6), pages 657-684, June.
    8. Nejat Anbarci & Monica Escaleras & Charles Register, 2006. "Traffic Fatalities and Public Sector Corruption," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 327-344, August.
    9. David Bishai & Asma Quresh & Prashant James & Abdul Ghaffar, 2006. "National road casualties and economic development," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(1), pages 65-81, January.
    10. Matthew G. Nagler, 2013. "Does Social Capital Promote Safety On The Roads?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(2), pages 1218-1231, April.
    11. Peltzman, Sam, 1975. "The Effects of Automobile Safety Regulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 83(4), pages 677-725, August.
    12. Yaron Hollander & Joseph Prashker, 2006. "The applicability of non-cooperative game theory in transport analysis," Transportation, Springer, vol. 33(5), pages 481-496, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Michael Grimm & Carole Treibich, 2013. "Determinants Of Road Traffic Crash Fatalities Across Indian States," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(8), pages 915-930, August.
    2. José Castillo-Manzano & Mercedes Castro-Nuño & Xavier Fageda, 2014. "Can health public expenditure reduce the tragic consequences of road traffic accidents? The EU-27 experience," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 15(6), pages 645-652, July.
    3. Castillo-Manzano, José I. & Castro-Nuño, Mercedes & Fageda, Xavier, 2015. "Are traffic violators criminals? Searching for answers in the experiences of European countries," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 86-94.
    4. Sherzod Yarmukhamedov, 2017. "Determinants of Traffic Fatalities in Sweden," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 7(2), pages 1-1.
    5. Collewet, Marion & Fairley, Kim & Kessels, Roselinde & Knoef, Marike & van Vliet, Olaf, 2024. "The design of welfare: unraveling taxpayers' preferences," OSF Preprints 4am7e, Center for Open Science.
    6. European Commission, 2013. "Tax reforms in EU Member States - Tax policy challenges for economic growth and fiscal sustainability – 2013 Report," Taxation Papers 38, Directorate General Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission.
    7. Pål Andreas Pedersen, 2001. "A Game Theoretical Approach to Road Safety," Studies in Economics 0105, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    8. Hoy, Michael & Polborn, Mattias K., 2015. "The value of technology improvements in games with externalities: A fresh look at offsetting behavior," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 12-20.
    9. Algan, Yann & Bisin, Alberto & Manning, Alan & Verdier, Thierry (ed.), 2012. "Cultural Integration of Immigrants in Europe," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199660094.
    10. Adam Levai & Riccardo Turati, 2021. "The Impact of Immigration on Workers’ Protection," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2021021, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES), revised 07 Sep 2021.
    11. Jean Pinquet & Georges Dionne & Charles Vanasse & Mathieu Maurice, 2007. "Point-record incentives, asymmetric information and dynamic data," Working Papers hal-00243056, HAL.
    12. Tyndall, Justin, 2021. "Pedestrian deaths and large vehicles," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 26.
    13. Garofalo, Maria Rosaria, 2011. "Il volontariato può sostenere lo sviluppo? Riflessioni metodologiche per la costruzione di un frame work teorico [Can the voluntary sector sustain the development path of an economy? Suggestions fo," MPRA Paper 40008, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Phillip Keefer & Carlos Scartascini, 2022. "Organization, Citizenship, and the Social Contract," IDB Publications (Book Chapters), in: Phillip Keefer & Carlos Scartascini (ed.), Trust: The Key to Social Cohesion and Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, edition 1, chapter 8, pages 195-222, Inter-American Development Bank.
    15. Doepke, Matthias & Zilibotti, Fabrizio, 2014. "Culture, Entrepreneurship, and Growth," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1-48, Elsevier.
    16. Sotiris Vandoros & Georgios Kavetsos & Paul Dolan, 2014. "Greasy Roads: The Impact of Bad Financial News on Road Traffic Accidents," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(3), pages 556-566, March.
    17. Thomas S. Dee & William N. Evans, 2001. "Teens and Traffic Safety," NBER Chapters, in: Risky Behavior among Youths: An Economic Analysis, pages 121-166, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Fatica, Serena, 2011. "Preferences for redistribution, the size of government and the tax system," MPRA Paper 29782, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Gualtieri, Giovanni & Nicolini, Marcella & Sabatini, Fabio, 2019. "Repeated shocks and preferences for redistribution," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 53-71.
    20. Sausgruber, Rupert & Sonntag, Axel & Tyran, Jean-Robert, 2021. "Disincentives from redistribution: evidence on a dividend of democracy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Road safety; compliance with rules; social capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R4 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

    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:ebl:ecbull:eb-21-00589. 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: John P. Conley (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.