2024-03-29T06:54:19
166441
Fri Mar 29 06:54:20 EDT 2024
Mandatory Helmet Use and the Severity of Motorcycle Accidents: No Brainer?
Magdalena Blanco
José María Cabrera
Felipe Carozzi
Alejandro Cid
166441
https://doi.org/10.3886/E166441V1
We
study the impact of mandatory motorcycle helmet use laws on the severity and volume
of road accidents in Uruguay by exploiting a change in the enforcement of the
traffic law. Using a difference-in-differences design based on an unexpected
change in policy, we report a sharp increase in helmet use and a five
percentage point reduction in the incidence of serious or fatal motorcyclist
accidents from a baseline of 11 percent. The benefits of helmet use are disproportionately
borne by groups more likely to experience serious injuries, such as males or
young drivers. We find no evidence of other responses in terms of either the
volume or type of accident, suggesting that motorcyclists’ behavior did not
respond to differences in risk. We show that additional costs of enforcement
for the relevant government agencies were negligible and estimate the health
benefits of the policy.