Temporary speed limit changes: An econometric estimation of the effects of the Spanish Energy Efficiency and Saving Plan

Nowadays, speeding is one of the most relevant problems for traffic safety and most resistant to change in motorized countries. The key instruments in Speed Management Policy are speed limits. This road safety strategy is often established or changed, in order to save fuel during periods of rising p...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Castillo Manzano, José I., Castro Nuño, Mercedes, Pedregal Tercero, Diego José
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/148670
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/148670
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2014.01.032
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Fuel consumption
Road safety
Speed management policy
Unobserved component models
Descripción
Sumario:Nowadays, speeding is one of the most relevant problems for traffic safety and most resistant to change in motorized countries. The key instruments in Speed Management Policy are speed limits. This road safety strategy is often established or changed, in order to save fuel during periods of rising prices. However, the relationship between speed limits and traffic accidents, is a topic widely discussed by researchers, and there seems to be some consensus about “speed kills.” By applying advanced time series models of unobserved components, our study investigates the impact of a temporary reduction of maximum speed limits, implemented in Spain in 2011, in terms of fuel consumption and fatalities. Our analysis shows that this measure caused a positive effect, although with a limited statistical significance, on fuel consumption and a discrete reduction in road mortality.