Shr YHJ, Yang FA. Public health crisis and risky road behaviors.
HEALTH ECONOMICS 2023;
32:1205-1219. [PMID:
36879473 DOI:
10.1002/hec.4667]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 12/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
This study investigates how exposure to riskier environments influences risky road behaviors, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment. Utilizing administrative individual traffic violation records from Taipei, where neither mandatory lockdown nor mobility restrictions were imposed, we find that pandemic-induced risk decreased speeding violations and that the effect was transitory. However, no significant changes were observed concerning violations with a minimal risk of casualties, such as illegal parking. These findings suggest that experiencing a higher level of life-threatening risk discourages risky behaviors concerning human life but has little spillover effect on those concerning only financial costs.
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