Road safety

What do economists know about road safety? More than you might think. Charles Wheelan explains:

I'll start with the socially relevant questions:

1. Do car seats for children over age two actually make them safer, compared to just wearing a regular seatbelt?

2. Do graduated licenses for young drivers make the roads safer? (Graduated licenses place limitations on new drivers during a specified learning period. Depending on the state, for example, they may only be allowed to drive during the day or with an adult in the car.)

3. Do motorcycle helmets save lives?

4. How dangerous are senior drivers?

The answers are:

1. Probably not.

2. Yes, but not for the reason you think.

3. Yes, definitely.

4. Very dangerous, but mostly to themselves.

For the reasons see Wheelan's article.