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The Accident Externality from Trucking

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  • Lucija Muehlenbachs
  • Stefan Staubli
  • Ziyan Chu

Abstract

The presence of a heavy truck on the road can impose an externality if accidents occur that would not have otherwise. We find each additional truck on the road increases the risk of a truck accident—but also, at an even higher rate, the risk of a car-on-car collision. Our estimates imply two percent of all car-on-car collisions can be attributed to trucks on the road. This negative externality falls on all road users through higher car insurance premiums: one truck, driving for a year in the same zip code, increases the insurance premium of each new enrollee by $0.48/year.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucija Muehlenbachs & Stefan Staubli & Ziyan Chu, 2017. "The Accident Externality from Trucking," NBER Working Papers 23791, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23791
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    Cited by:

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    2. Lichtman-Sadot, Shirlee, 2019. "Can public transportation reduce accidents? Evidence from the introduction of late-night buses in Israeli cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 99-117.
    3. Massimo Filippini & Suchita Srinivasan, 2019. "Investments in Worker Health and Labor Productivity: Evidence from Vietnam," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 19/326, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    4. Schulke, Arne & Mai Vi Nguyen, 2023. "The introduction of self-driving / full-automation trucks: Will we live among these modern dinosaurs?," IU Discussion Papers - Transport & Logistics 1 (Januar 2023), IU International University of Applied Sciences.
    5. Nathaly M. Rivera, 2020. "Is Mining an Environmental Disamenity? Evidence from Resource Extraction Site Openings," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 75(3), pages 485-528, March.
    6. Max Harleman, 2023. "Compensating communities for industrial disamenities: The case of shale gas development," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(1), pages 10-34, January.
    7. Nehiba, Cody, 2020. "Taxed to death? Freight truck collision externalities and diesel taxes," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

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