None for the road? Stricter drink driving laws and road accidents

Marco Francesconi, Jonathan James

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (SciVal)
27 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Reducing drink drive limits is generally regarded an effective strategy to save lives on the road. Using several new administrative data sources, we evaluate the effect of a stricter limit introduced in Scotland in 2014. This reduction had no effect on drink driving and road collisions. Estimates from a supply-of-offenses function suggests that the reform did not have much ex-ante scope for sizeable effects. The unavailability of cheaper alternative means of transportation and weak law enforcement seem to have been the main channels behind the lack of an impact. We find no externality on a wide range of domains, from alcohol consumption to criminal activities other than drink driving.
Original languageEnglish
Article number102487
Number of pages23
JournalJournal of Health Economics
Volume79
Early online date19 Jun 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Sept 2021

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'None for the road? Stricter drink driving laws and road accidents'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this