The Regulation of Motor Vehicle and Traffic Safety

Decisions twenty years ago during the fIrst generation of modern traffIc safety policymaking were easier than today. Afterall, the mandate for specifIc mandatory motor vehicle safety standards was dermed rather clearly during legislative hearings. Since the initial standards, decisions have been based on the more general guidelines of "practicality" and avoiding "unreasonable risks. " Now, with more diffIcult decisions pending, the demand for analysis is greater. My purpose in writing this book is to promote second generation policymaking in traffic safety. The dominant theme is that an "individual net benefIt approach" is useful in the design, evaluation and improvement of traffic safety policy. Hopefully, this book provides some guidance for today's tougher decisions. Evaluative review of modern traffic safety policy, especially automobile safety standards, yields several results. The technological approach, the basis for the 1966 legislation, is shown to produce mistakes. Benefits are overestimated and endangerment of nonoccupants is ignored. The risk homeostatic approach, the devil's idea to some in the safety community, is shown to be a limiting case of the more general individual net benefIt approach. Rationality and competency in travelers' safety decisions are reviewed in a broad context. Evidence beyond the realm of behavioral ix x The Regulation of Motor Vehicle and Traffic Safety psychology indicates considerable, albeit imperfect, competency in traffic safety decisions. Conventional benefit-cost analysis is critiqued. Existing studies of passive restraints are shown to overestimate net benefits because travelers' responses and costs are ignored.

Inhalt
1: The Motor Vehicle and Traffic Safety Mandate.- Fatalities in Traffic AccidentsTrends and Incidence.- Early Congressional Hearings on Traffic Safety.- The Traffic Safety Acts of 1966.- Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.- Standards for Highway Safety Programs.- Other Safety Activities.- Perspectives.- Notes.- 2: A Framework for Thinking About Traffic Safety Policy.- The Nature of the Mandate.- The Technological Approach.- The Risk Homeostatic Approach.- A General Framework: The Individual Benefit-Cost Approach.- Potential Imperfections in Motorist Decisions: Types and Evidence.- Traffic Safety Problems: A Matter of Degree.- Notes.- Appendix: Mathmatical Exposition of the Individual Benefit-Cost Approach.- 3: The Contribution of Vehicle Safety Standards to Traffic Safety.- Changes in Traffic Fatality Rates.- Evidence on the Safety Effects.- Interpreting the Evidence.- Notes.- 4: Economics of Mandatory Passive Restraints: Benefit-Cost Analysis, Rulemaking and Court Decisions.- Background for Crash Protection Rules and Court Decisions.- BenefitCost Studies of Mandatory Passive Restraints.- Critique of the Benefit-Cost Analysis.- Perspective on Regulatory and Legal Decisions.- The Dole RuleEconomic Critique of the Current Standard.- Notes.- 5: Improving Traffic Safety Policy.- Immediate Causes of Imperfections.- Nonmarket Failure: An Obstacle to Policy Perfection.- Correcting Policy Imperfections with a Better Framework.- Notes.- 6: Summary Remarks and Recommendations.- Summary Remarks.- Recommendations for Improving Traffic Safety Policy.- List of Tables And Figures Table 1-1 Causes of Death, 1984.- Table 12 Incidence of Motor Vehicle Fatalities, by Age Group.- Table 13 Traffic Fatalities and Fatality Rates, 19471986.- Figure 11 Annual TrafficFatalities and Fatality Rates, 19471986.- Table 14 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.- Table 15 Standards for Highway Safety Programs.- Table 21 Representative Evidence on the Individual Benefit Cost Approach.- Table 31 Impact of Vehicle Safety Standards on Traffic Fatality Rates and Lives Saved.- Table 41 Benefit-Cost Studies of Mandatory Passive Restraints.- Table 51 Ranking of National Problems.