TRAFFIC SAFETY AND THE BUSINESS CYCLE

The influence of the business cycle on traffic safety is more subtle and powerful than previously suspected. In particular, traffic fatalities display a procyclical trend even after controlling for the amount of motor vehicle travel. This result is apparent from analysis of national time-series data for the post-War period and from analysis of pooled state data for the past decade. Using unemployment rates as a business cycle indicator, it is demonstrated that the business cycle affects drivers of different ages in an uneven fashion. Although the fatality counts for drivers in all age groups appear to be procyclical, the counts for young drivers (16 to 19 and 20 to 24 years of age) appear to be particularly sensitive to fluctuations in age-specific unemployment rates. In conclusion, the importance of the business cycle is emphasized and the implications for evaluation of countermeasures are discussed.

• Corporate Authors:

  Brain Information Service

  California University, Center for Health Science
  Los Angeles, CA  United States  90024
• Publication Date: 1988-1

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 31-38
• Serial:
  • ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND DRIVING
  • Volume: 4
  • Issue Number: 1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adolescents; Businesses; Countermeasures; Drivers; Fatalities; Teenage drivers; Traffic safety; Unemployment
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00469075
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-040 841
• Files: HSL, TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 30 1991 12:00AM