You are a city council member considering whether or not to vote for the install

Question

You are a city council member considering whether or not to vote for the installation of speed limit cameras on a treacherous highway that surrounds the city. According to statistical studies, this traffic enforcement program would reduce the risk of fatal highway accidents from 4.1 to 0.85%. The yearly cost of operating the system is $400,000.

Suppose ice road truckers outearn ordinary truckers by $120,000 per year. The risk of a job related fatal accident is 6% among ice road truckers and 4.9% among ordinary road truckers. Assume these figures reflect truck operators of similar age, education, abilites, etc. and that these characteristics are comparable to the average American.

What is the net social benefit of installing the speed limit system, i.e. the benefits minus the costs?

Explanation / Answer

With an impact speed of 50mph, the
likelihood of death for the car
occupants is about 20 times that for
an impact at 20mph (IIHS, 1987)
? Common Rule of Thumb*:
1% increase in mean speed =
2% increase in injury accidents rate
3% increase in severe accident rate
4% increase in fatal accident rate
? Variable depending on road type,
speed variability and environment
(Elvik et al., 2004)

THE PURPOSE OF SPEED LIMIT

1)To Enhance Safety
The primary purpose of speed limits is to enhance safety by
reducing the risks imposed by drivers

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