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Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Pavement Damage Reduces Traffic Safety and Speed

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Listed:
  • Margaret Bock
  • Alexander Cardazzi
  • Brad R. Humphreys

Abstract

Road maintenance constitutes a significant component of public transportation spending at all levels of government. Formulation of efficient transportation infrastructure policy requires information about factors affecting road and traffic conditions. We generate the first causal evidence that decreasing pavement quality impacts vehicle crash rates and decreases average speed. Results from Instrumental Variable models using spatially and temporally disaggregated data from Federal-Aid Highway System (FAHS) roads in California show statistically and economically significant increases in vehicle crash rates and decreases in average vehicle speed caused by road damage. These impacts imply significant increases in social costs attributable to road damage.

Suggested Citation

  • Margaret Bock & Alexander Cardazzi & Brad R. Humphreys, 2021. "Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Pavement Damage Reduces Traffic Safety and Speed," NBER Working Papers 29176, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29176
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bock, Margaret & Cardazzi, Alexander & Humphreys, Brad R., 2025. "Where the rubber meets the road: Pavement damage reduces traffic safety and speed," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    2. Mehrotra, Neil & Turner, Matthew A. & Uribe, Juan Pablo, 2024. "Does the US have an infrastructure cost problem? Evidence from the interstate highway system," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
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    7. Newbery, David M, 1988. "Road Damage Externalities and Road User Charges," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(2), pages 295-316, March.
    8. Gertler, Paul J. & Gonzalez-Navarro, Marco & Gračner, Tadeja & Rothenberg, Alexander D., 2024. "Road maintenance and local economic development: Evidence from Indonesia’s highways," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    9. Erik Meijer & Edward Oczkowski & Tom Wansbeek, 2021. "How measurement error affects inference in linear regression," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 131-155, January.
    10. Clifford Winston, 1991. "Efficient Transportation Infrastructure Policy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 113-127, Winter.
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    13. Coady Wing & Seth M. Freedman & Alex Hollingsworth, 2024. "Stacked Difference-in-Differences," NBER Working Papers 32054, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Kim, Jinwon, 2022. "Does roadwork improve road speed? Evidence from urban freeways in California," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    15. Duranton, Gilles & Turner, Matthew A., 2018. "Urban form and driving: Evidence from US cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 170-191.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gertler, Paul J. & Gonzalez-Navarro, Marco & Gračner, Tadeja & Rothenberg, Alexander D., 2024. "Road maintenance and local economic development: Evidence from Indonesia’s highways," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    2. Bock, Margaret & Cardazzi, Alexander & Humphreys, Brad R., 2025. "Where the rubber meets the road: Pavement damage reduces traffic safety and speed," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    3. Gertler, Paul J & Gonzalez-Navarro, Marco & Gracner, Tadeja & Rothenberg, Alexander, 2023. "Road Maintenance and Local Economic Development," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt38m633q0, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
    4. Margaret Bock & Benjamin Blemings, 2024. "Road maintenance over the local election cycle," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 198(1), pages 129-151, January.
    5. Kim, Jinwon, 2022. "Does roadwork improve road speed? Evidence from urban freeways in California," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    6. Chen, Jiandong & Yu, Jie & Shen, Zhiyang & Song, Malin & Zhou, Ziqi, 2023. "Debt financing and maintenance expenditure: Theory and evidence on government-operated toll roads in China," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(1).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • 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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