Citation

Silver D, Macinko J, Bae JY, Jimenez G, Paul M. Public Health 2013; 127(12): 1117-1125.

Affiliation

Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: diana.silver@nyu.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.puhe.2013.10.003

PMID

24275035

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of variation in state laws governing traffic safety on motor vehicle fatalities. STUDY DESIGN: Repeated cross sectional time series design. METHODS: Fixed effects regression models estimate the relationship between state motor vehicle fatality rates and the strength of the state law environment for 50 states, 1980-2010. The strength of the state policy environment is measured by calculating the proportion of a set of 27 evidence-based laws in place each year. The effect of alcohol consumption on motor vehicle fatalities is estimated using a subset of alcohol laws as instrumental variables. RESULTS: Once other risk factors are controlled in statistical models, states with stronger regulation of safer driving and driver/passenger protections had significantly lower motor vehicle fatality rates for all ages. Alcohol consumption was strongly associated with higher MVC death rates, as were state unemployment rates. CONCLUSIONS: Encouraging laggard states to adopt the full range of available laws could significantly reduce preventable traffic-related deaths in the U.S. - especially those among younger individuals. Estimating the relationship between different policy environments and health outcomes can quantify the result of policy gaps.

Language: en