Summertime and the drivin’ is easy? Daylight saving time and vehicle accidents

Laliotis, Ioannis, Moscelli, Giuseppe and Monastiriotis, Vassilis ORCID: 0000-0003-3709-3119 (2023) Summertime and the drivin’ is easy? Daylight saving time and vehicle accidents. Health Economics (United Kingdom), 32 (10). 2192 - 2215. ISSN 1057-9230

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Abstract

We investigate how exogenous variation in daylight caused by Daylight Saving Time affects road safety as measured by the count of vehicle crashes. We use administrative daily data from Greece covering the universe of all types of recorded vehicle accidents during the 2006–2016 period. Our regression discontinuity estimates support an ambient light mechanism that reduces the counts of serious vehicle accidents during the Spring transition and increases the count of minor ones during the Fall transition. The effects are driven from the hour intervals that are mostly affected from seasonal clock changes. We then discuss the potential cost implications of those seasonal transitions. In light of the talks about abolishing seasonal clock changes in the European Union (EU), our findings are policy relevant and can inform the public debate as empirical evidence for the block is scarce.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10991050
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Economics European Institute
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications
JEL classification:	I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I12 - Health Production: Nutrition, Mortality, Morbidity, Suicide, Substance Abuse and Addiction, Disability, and Economic Behavior I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I18 - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R4 - Transportation Systems > R41 - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
Date Deposited:	09 Jun 2023 11:36
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 03:46
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/119374

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