Working Paper: NBER ID: w23791
Authors: Lucija Muehlenbachs; Stefan Staubli; Ziyan Chu
Abstract: The presence of a heavy truck on the road can impose an externality if accidents occur that would not have otherwise. We find each additional truck on the road increases the risk of a truck accident—but also, at an even higher rate, the risk of a car-on-car collision. Our estimates imply two percent of all car-on-car collisions can be attributed to trucks on the road. This negative externality falls on all road users through higher car insurance premiums: one truck, driving for a year in the same zip code, increases the insurance premium of each new enrollee by $0.48/year.
Keywords: trucking; accidents; externalities; insurance premiums
JEL Codes: G22; H23; I18; Q58; R41
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Each additional truck on the road (L91) | Risk of a truck accident (R41) |
| Each additional truck on the road (L91) | Risk of a car-on-car collision (R41) |
| One truck driving for a year in the same zip code (L92) | Insurance premium of each new enrollee (G52) |
| Each shale gas well (L71) | Truck trips (L92) |
| Each shale gas well (L71) | Truck accidents per quarter (L92) |
| Each shale gas well (L71) | Non-truck accidents per quarter (L92) |
| Increase in accidents (R41) | Fatalities and injuries (J28) |
| Presence of trucks (L91) | Truck accidents per kilometer driven (R41) |