Speed Limit Enforcement and Road Safety

51 Pages Posted: 22 Jan 2020

See all articles by Stefan Bauernschuster

Stefan Bauernschuster

University of Passau - Business Administration and Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) - Ifo Institute; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Ramona Rekers

University of Passau

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Abstract

We study the impact on road safety of one-day massive speed limit monitoring operations (SLMO) accompanied by media campaigns that announce the SLMO and provide information on the dangers of speeding. Using register data on the universe of police reported accidents in a generalized difference-in-differences approach, we find that SLMO reduce traffic accidents and casualties by eight percent. Yet, immediately after the SLMO day, all effects vanish. Further evidence suggests that people drive more slowly and responsibly on SLMO days to avoid fines; providing information on the dangers of speeding does not alter driving behavior in a more sustainable way.

Keywords: traffic, law enforcement, safety, accidents

JEL Classification: H76, K42, R41

Suggested Citation

Bauernschuster, Stefan and Bauernschuster, Stefan and Rekers, Ramona, Speed Limit Enforcement and Road Safety. IZA Discussion Paper No. 12863, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3521680 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3521680

Stefan Bauernschuster (Contact Author)

University of Passau - Business Administration and Economics ( email )

University of Passau
Innstrasse 27
D-94030 Passau
Germany

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) - Ifo Institute ( email )

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, 81679
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Ramona Rekers

University of Passau ( email )

Innstrasse 27
Passau, 94032
Germany

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