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Activity Number: 297
Type: Topic Contributed
Date/Time: Tuesday, August 2, 2016 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
Sponsor: Government Statistics Section
Abstract #321314 View Presentation
Title: Accidents, Injuries, and Driving Speeds: A Causal Investigation
Author(s): Christopher Eshleman* and Jonathan Auerbach
Companies: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Columbia University
Keywords: causal ; transportation
Abstract:

Every year, Americans suffer over 2 million injuries from motor vehicle accidents. It's one of the statistics urban policy makers must consider when reviewing and setting the rules of the road, including but not limited to speed limits. This analysis considers the efficacy of lowering the speed limit in urban areas. It evaluates the causal relationship between posted speeds and injury severity in accidents. Consideration of urban speed limits' safety implications inform metropolitan policy discussions, and the authors extend this discussion to simultaneously accommodate crash data from urban areas across the United States. The US Department of Transportation's General Estimates System accident database represents an ideal resource for analyzing this question. The database includes a range of covariates specific to automobile characteristics, date and time of day, driver characteristics and other details. Those covariates provide the resources for a robust control strategy. Special consideration is paid to driver distraction, a focus of increasing attention from researchers.


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