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Congestion and Safety on Highways: Towards an Analytical Model

Author

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  • Daniel Shefer

    (Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City, Haifa 32000, Israel)

  • Piet Rietveld

    (Faculty of Economics and Econometrics, University of Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands, prietveld@econ.vu.nl)

Abstract

Congestion and accidents are important components of the externalities created by road users in metropolitan areas. In the present paper, we investigate the relationship between these two components. Among the factors which influence the number of fatalities on highways are: speed, speed differences and traffic composition. We pay special attention to the impact of congestion on the number of fatalities. The lower speeds which are caused by congestion would lead to lower numbers of fatal accidents. As a result, we expect a parabolic relationship between density and fatal accidents on highways. When densities increase, we would first have a positive relationship due to the increase in the numbers of cars in the system. However, when density becomes so high that speeds are influenced negatively, the number of accidents will decrease. The conclusion would be that in addition to the negative impact of congestion in terms of time losses, we also have a positive impact, since fatalities are reduced. Some supporting evidence is found for a number of countries where relatively low numbers of fatalities are observed during the morning peak.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Shefer & Piet Rietveld, 1997. "Congestion and Safety on Highways: Towards an Analytical Model," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 34(4), pages 679-692, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:34:y:1997:i:4:p:679-692
    DOI: 10.1080/0042098975970
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. 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.
    4. Ihab Kaddoura & Kai Nagel, 2018. "Simultaneous internalization of traffic congestion and noise exposure costs," Transportation, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 1579-1600, September.
    5. Schrage, Andrea, 2006. "Traffic Congestion and Accidents," University of Regensburg Working Papers in Business, Economics and Management Information Systems 419, University of Regensburg, Department of Economics.
    6. Daniel Albalate & Xavier Fageda, 2019. "Congestion, Road Safety, and the Effectiveness of Public Policies in Urban Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-21, September.
    7. Stefan Bauernschuster & Timo Hener & Helmut Rainer, 2017. "When Labor Disputes Bring Cities to a Standstill: The Impact of Public Transit Strikes on Traffic, Accidents, Air Pollution, and Health," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 1-37, February.
    8. Noland, Robert B. & Quddus, Mohammed A., 2005. "Congestion and safety: A spatial analysis of London," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 39(7-9), pages 737-754.
    9. Robert B. Noland, 2008. "Understanding Accessibility and Road Capacity Changes: A Response in Support of Metz," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(6), pages 698-706, November.
    10. Simon Shepherd, 2008. "The effect of complex models of externalities on estimated optimal tolls," Transportation, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 559-577, July.
    11. Wang, Chao & Quddus, Mohammed & Ison, Stephen, 2009. "The effects of area-wide road speed and curvature on traffic casualties in England," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 385-395.
    12. Xu, Chengcheng & Wang, Yong & Liu, Pan & Wang, Wei & Bao, Jie, 2018. "Quantitative risk assessment of freeway crash casualty using high-resolution traffic data," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 299-311.
    13. Pasidis, Ilias, 2019. "Congestion by accident? A two-way relationship for highways in England," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 301-314.
    14. Law, Teik Hua & Noland, Robert B. & Evans, Andrew W., 2011. "The sources of the Kuznets relationship between road fatalities and economic growth," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 355-365.
    15. Robert Noland & Mohammed Quddus & Washington Ochieng, 2008. "The effect of the London congestion charge on road casualties: an intervention analysis," Transportation, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 73-91, January.

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