Gasoline prices and traffic safety in Mississippi

ProblemLimited literature suggests that gasoline prices have substantial effects on reducing fatal crashes. However, the literature focuses only on fatal crashes and does not examine the effects on all traffic crashes.MethodsMississippi traffic crash data from April 2004–December 2008 from the Mississippi Highway Patrol and regular-grade unleaded gasoline price data from the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy were used to investigate the effects of gasoline prices on traffic safety by age, gender, and race.ResultsGasoline prices have both short-term and intermediate-term effects on reducing total traffic crashes and crashes of females, whites, and blacks. The intermediate-term effects are generally stronger than the short-term effects. Gasoline prices also have short-term effects on reducing crashes of younger drivers and intermediate-term effects on older drivers and male drivers.Impact on IndustryHigher gasoline taxes reduce traffic crashes and may result in additional societal benefits.

Research Highlights
► This study examines all traffic crashes rather than only fatal crashes.
► Higher gasoline prices lead to fewer crashes of younger drivers immediately.
► Higher gasoline prices lead to fewer crashes of the older and males at a one-year lag.
► Both immediate and one-year-lag effects exist for females, whites, and blacks.
► The effects are stronger at a one-year lag than those at current time.