Maxime Large (p), Laurent Carnis, Jean-Louis Martin, Dominique Mignot

Annelies Schoeters

One aim of the research projects Vasem and M-Vasem (Carnis et al., 2018) is to assess the cost of road accidents in France. That communication propose to assessthe average cost of such injuries, especially focusing on the medical cost component which is not currently taken into account in the official balance sheet of road safety. The method used rests upon the restitution of costs approach. This consists in assessing the resources for the recovery of road victims and their families.
To estimate the cost of hospitalisation for road traffic injuries, we proceed with three main steps which are the identification of road traffic injuries, the determination of the severity of injuries and the estimation of the cost of hospitalization.
Between 2009 and 2013, the average costs of hospitalization in medical and surgical units for the slightly injured and the seriously injured increased from 2115 euros and 9058 euros respectively to 2242 euros and 10338 euros, i.e.an increase of 6% and 14% respectively.
The contribution of this preliminary work and upcoming work should allow to include the medical costs in the official road safety balance sheet. A complete estimate of the cost of road safety will allow, on the one hand, a better appreciation of the impact of road accidents on society and, on the other hand, assistance for public decision-makers in prioritizing road safety investments.

Annelies Schoeters (p), Stijn Daniels, Dominique Mignot, Laurent Carnis, Maxime Large, Raschid Urmeew

Andy Obermeyer

See extended abstract

Andy Obermeyer (p), Georg Hirte

Ofir Rubin

For the assessment of transport infrastructure projects, the use of cost-benefit analysis is a conventional procedure. One component within those analyses is the reduction of traffic accident victims, which has to be expressed in monetary units. Following the current literature, the value of a statistical life or, more generally, the value of risk reduction can be determined based on the individuals’ willingness to pay. In a pilot study for Germany, we developed a stated choice approach to estimate the monetary values of four different injury categories. As original (and representative) studies for European countries using this state-of-the-art method are rare, the insights of this pilot survey might also be of interest for other countries. In our analysis, we focused on the issue of risk presentation and measures to reduce the artificial character of the experiment. One of these measures is a driving simulation which, to the best of our knowledge, has not been used in SC studies on road safety valuation before.

Aviv Steren, Stav Rosenzweig , Ofir Rubin (p)

Laurent Carnis

Energy-efficient cars have become increasingly prevalent in recent years, in many cases because of governmental policies that incentivize consumers to purchase them. Importantly, these cars are characterized by light weight and small size, both of which are likely to negatively affect the car’s safety. A critical research question is, therefore, do policies that incentivize the purchase of energy-efficient cars – thereby increasing their presence on the roads – also increase car-accidents’ fatality rates?
However, whereas energy-efficient cars are less safe due to their small size and light weight, their limited safety may stimulate their drivers to drive more carefully.
To measure the difference in driving behavior between drivers of small versus large cars, we first utilize Israeli Police records of all fatal and severe car accidents between 2007-2015. Specifically, we examine whether drivers of small cars are more likely to be involved in a severe or fatal accident. We then use Israeli Police records of all traffic violations between 2007-2015 to address the likelihood of selection bias (i.e., careful drivers own small cars) and test if drivers of small cars are less prone to traffic violations, suggesting that they drive more carefully.
Our preliminary results suggest that drivers of small cars are less likely to (1) be involved in fatal car accidents and (2) commit traffic violations than drivers of large cars. We postulate that considering the limited safety of their cars, drivers of small cars drive more carefully, thereby offsetting the increased hazard inherent to the cars they own.
From a policy perspective, our study examines two critical policy goals: energy-efficiency and road-safety. While prior research associated energy-efficiency policies with increased risk of fatalities, our study provides policy makers with a better understanding of the complex relationship between energy-efficiency and road-safety, so that more informed policies could be designed.