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Heckle and Chide: Results of a randomized road safety intervention in Kenya

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  • Habyarimana, James
  • Jack, William

Abstract

We report the results of a randomized field experiment aimed at improving the safety of long-distance mini-busses or matatus in Kenya. Our intervention combines evocative messages aimed at motivating passengers to speak up against bad driving with a lottery that rewards matatu drivers for keeping the stickers in place. Independent insurance claims data were collected for more than 2000 long-distance matatus before and after the intervention. Our results indicate that insurance claims fell by a half to two-thirds, from a baseline annual rate of about 10%, and that claims involving injury or death fell by 60%. While we are unable to identify the mechanism(s) underlying this effect, the intervention is more cost effective in reducing mortality than other documented public health interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Habyarimana, James & Jack, William, 2011. "Heckle and Chide: Results of a randomized road safety intervention in Kenya," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(11), pages 1438-1446.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:95:y:2011:i:11:p:1438-1446
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2011.06.008
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    1. repec:wbk:wbpubs:7242 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. repec:wbk:wbpubs:7039 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Colin D Mathers & Dejan Loncar, 2006. "Projections of Global Mortality and Burden of Disease from 2002 to 2030," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 3(11), pages 1-20, November.
    4. Habyarimana, James & Jack, William, 2011. "Heckle and Chide: Results of a randomized road safety intervention in Kenya," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(11), pages 1438-1446.
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    1. Hu, Youxin & Huang, Shaoqing & Jiang, Ming & Xu, Xiaoshu, 2024. "Traffic violations and economic preferences: Evidence from full-time drivers of a large transportation network company in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    2. Abeer Mohamed Ali Abd Elkhalek, 2020. "An Assessment of the Applicability of Behavioral Economics’ Tools to Policy Making Process Considering Sustainable Development Goals," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(10), pages 1-57, October.
    3. 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.
    4. Iimi, Atsushi, 2025. "Job Accessibility, Commute Time, and Efficiency of Urban Transport : Evidence from Dar es Salaam," Policy Research Working Paper Series 11186, The World Bank.
    5. Lu, Fangwen & Zhang, Jinan & Perloff, Jeffrey M., 2016. "General and specific information in deterring traffic violations: Evidence from a randomized experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 97-107.
    6. Grimm, M. & Treibich, C., 2010. "Socio-economic determinants of road traffic accident fatalities in low and middle income countries," ISS Working Papers - General Series 19841, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    7. Cabrales, Antonio & Kendall, Ryan & Sánchez, Anxo, 2019. "Effective policies and social norms in the presence of driverless cars: Theory and experiment," CEPR Discussion Papers 13784, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    8. Antonio Cabrales & Ryan Kendall & Angel Sánchez, 2022. "The effectiveness of prosocial policies: Gender differences arising from social norms," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(12), pages 1-23, December.
    9. Dupas, Pascaline & Miguel, Edward, 2016. "Impacts and Determinants of Health Levels in Low-Income Countries," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt3r04k69j, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    10. Habyarimana, James & Jack, William, 2011. "Heckle and Chide: Results of a randomized road safety intervention in Kenya," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(11), pages 1438-1446.
    11. Peters, Jörg & Langbein, Jörg & Roberts, Gareth, 2016. "Policy evaluation, randomized controlled trials, and external validity—A systematic review," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 51-54.
    12. Chen, Yan & Lu, Fangwen & Zhang, Jinan, 2017. "Social comparisons, status and driving behavior," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 11-20.
    13. Duflo, Esther & Banerjee, Abhijit & Keniston, Daniel, 2019. "The Efficient Deployment of Police Resources: Theory and New Evidence from a Randomized Drunk Driving Crackdown in India," CEPR Discussion Papers 13981, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    14. Barrett, Christopher B. & Schofield, Heather, 2026. "On risk-based poverty traps," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    15. Bengtsson, Niklas, 2015. "Efficient informal trade: Theory and experimental evidence from the Cape Town taxi market," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 85-98.
    16. Emmanuel Bonnet & Lucie Lechat & Valéry Ridde, 2018. "What interventions are required to reduce road traffic injuries in Africa? A scoping review of the literature," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-20, November.
    17. Raffaela Giordano & Sergi Lanau & Pietro Tommasino & Petia Topalova, 2020. "Does public sector inefficiency constrain firm productivity? Evidence from Italian provinces," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(4), pages 1019-1049, August.
    18. Iimi, Atsushi, 2025. "Direct and Indirect Impacts of Transport Mobility on Access to Jobs : Evidence from South Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 11255, The World Bank.
    19. Noort, Mark C. & Reader, Tom W. & Gillespie, Alex, 2019. "Speaking up to prevent harm: a systematic review of the safety voice literature," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100774, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Grépin, Karen A. & Habyarimana, James & Jack, William, 2019. "Cash on delivery: Results of a randomized experiment to promote maternal health care in Kenya," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 15-30.
    21. James Habyarimana & William Jack, 2014. "State versus Consumer Regulation: An Evaluation of Two Road Safety Interventions in Kenya," NBER Chapters, in: African Successes, Volume I: Government and Institutions, pages 307-330, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Das, Veena & Daniels, Benjamin & Kwan, Ada & Saria, Vaibhav & Das, Ranendra & Pai, Madhukar & Das, Jishnu, 2022. "Simulated patients and their reality: An inquiry into theory and method," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    23. Zhang, Jinan & Perloff, Jeffrey M. & Lu, Fangwen, 2020. "Informing and inquiring: Experimental evidence on reducing traffic violations," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    24. Ferraro, Paul J. & Miranda, Juan José, 2013. "Heterogeneous treatment effects and mechanisms in information-based environmental policies: Evidence from a large-scale field experiment," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 356-379.

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