OPTIMAL ROAD PRICING WITH RESPECT TO ACCIDENTS IN A SECOND-BEST PERSPECTIVE

This paper derives optimal road charges with respect to the accident risk a road-user imposes on others. Many argue, based on some empirical evidence, that there are no external risk costs from road transport, since the accident risk per kilometer seems to be approximately independent of the vehicle flow and that therefore there should be no charge. Here it is argued that the reason why the accident risk may be independent of the flow is that individuals will undertake some risk-avoiding behavior due to a traffic increase and that this adjustment is costly for the individual. Consequently, it turns out that it would still be optimal to have a charge related to accident risk. The analysis is undertaken both in a first-best world where the government directly can control driving behavior, and in a second-best world where the government cannot directly influence driving behavior. The difference is shown to be important for the optimal charge. (A)

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03918440
• Corporate Authors:

  Istituti Editoriali e Poligrafici Internazionali

  Via Ruggero Bonghi, 11/B
  Rome,   Italy  00184
• Authors:
  • Johansson, O
• Publication Date: 1997-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 344-65
• Serial:
  • International Journal of Transport Economics
  • Volume: 24
  • Issue Number: 3
  • ISSN: 0391-8440
  • Serial URL: http://www.libraweb.net/riviste.php?chiave=67

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Drivers; Risk taking; Road pricing; Tariffs; Travel time; Trip length
• ITRD Terms: 9001: Behaviour; 1772: Driver; 697: Journey time; 2259: Risk taking; 240: Road pricing; 241: Tariff
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00746246
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 24 1998 12:00AM