The Upside to High Gas Prices: Fewer Accidents

Suzanna De Baca -- Expert Business Source, 7/21/2008 7:53:00 AM

No one likes feeling the pinch at the gas pump, but a study shows that high gasoline prices might have an unexpected public benefit: fewer traffic fatalities. 

The 2006 study, co-sponsored by the University of Alabama and Harvard Medical School, suggests that higher gas prices result in fewer deaths from traffic accidents.  The Associated Press estimates that with gas prices soaring high above 2006 levels, the US could experience as many as 1000 fewer traffic related deaths per month.

After comparing the average prices of gasoline with the number of fatal traffic accidents from 1985 to 2006, the researchers found that for each 10% increase in gas prices, fatal traffic accidents declined 2.3%.  The percent of fatalities decreased even more – by 6% in the younger range of drivers, those 15 to 17 years old, who tend to drive more recklessly.

The study’s co-authors, Professor Michael Morrissey of the University of Alabama and David Grabowski, Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School, concluded that when gas prices are cheap, Americans drive faster, purchase bigger vehicles, and drive more – all elements that contribute to traffic fatalities.   The opposite holds true as well:  when gas prices increase, we drive less frequently, switch to smaller vehicles, and drive closer to the speed limit in order to maximize fuel efficiency.  

The study shows that even a decrease as modest as 5 mph generates a statistically relevant decrease in vehicular fatalities nationwide.  Professors Morrissey and Grabowski found that annual traffic fatality statistics average around 40,000 per year, so a 2.3% reduction can be significant.

So, next time you’re grumbling at the pump, remember that there is a positive side to high gas prices; you’re safer on the roads, something that money just can’t buy.

Suzanna de Baca is president of Private Capital Solutions Group. Securities offered through Broker Dealer Financial Services Corp. Member FINRA & SIPC. Investment Advisor Representative of Investment Advisors Corp., A Registered Investment Advisor. Material discussed is meant for general illustration and/or informational purposes only and it is not to be construed as tax, legal or investment advice. Although the information has been gathered from sources believed reliable, please note that individual situations can vary, therefore the information should be relied upon when coordinated with individual professional advice.