Traffic safety in the U.S.: Re-examining major opportunities

Abstract

Based on current understanding of the five major risk factors, and of the available countermeasures, there appear to be a variety of opportunities to make substantial gains in road safety using existing knowledge. The limited implementation of a variety of known countermeasures therefore appears to be inconsistent with high-level, strategic goals to improve road safety. Consequently, a recommendation is made to comprehensively re-examine the balance between the countermeasures discussed in this article and economic, mobility, and privacy concerns. IMPACT ON PUBLIC SAFETY: Such a re-examination is likely to result in broad support for these countermeasures, with a consequent major improvement in road safety.

Why is road safety in the U.S. not on par with Sweden, the U.K., and the Netherlands? Lessons to be learned

“…The final topics to be covered in this paper are based on our earlier study [29], which examined five factors that are important to road safety in the U.S. The factors included were alcohol-impaired driving, exceeding posted speed limits, not wearing seat belts, visibility problems in nighttime driving, and young driver problems.…”

Effects of Pay-As-You-Drive vehicle insurance on young drivers’ speed choice: Results of a Dutch field experiment

“…time of driving). As a tool for behavior change, PAYD may help in tackling major road-safety risks, such as speed violations and nighttime driving (Sivak et al, 2007), and may yield additional societal benefits through reduced mileage, such as lower vehicle emissions and reduced congestion. PAYD might be especially effective in changing the driving behavior of young drivers as traditionally young drivers pay relatively high premiums, and variabilisation of their premiums could therefore lead to relatively large financial incentives.…”

“…The literature suggests that speed is one of the most important predictors of crash risk (Aarts and van Schagen, 2006), therefore our primary interest was testing the effects of PAYD on speeding, which is driving above the posted speed limits. However, the field experiment also included a financial incentive for participants to reduce their mileage and avoid driving on weekend nighttime hours, as increased mileage and driving at night during weekends have been associated with increased accident risk (Sivak et al, 2007).…”

Pay-as-you-Drive Vehicle Insurance as a Tool to Reduce Crash Risk

“…As a tool for behavior change, PAYD may help in tackling major road-safety risks, such as speed violations and nighttime driving (Sivak et al, 2007), and may yield additional societal benefits through reduced mileage and smoother and more fuel efficient driving styles, such as lower vehicle emissions and reduced congestion. PAYD might be especially effective in changing the driving behavior of young drivers, who are typically overrepresented in accident statistics.…”

“…However, the field experiment also included a financial incentive for participants to reduce their mileage and avoid driving on weekend nighttime hours, as increased mileage and driving at night during weekends have been associated with increased accident risk (Sivak et al, 2007) as well.…”