Shifting Death to Their Alternatives The Case of Toll Motorways

Interest in the use of tolls to fund and regulate demand on motorways has revived in recent years. However, less attention has been paid to the road safety effects of this policy. Although toll motorway quality is equal to or above that of free motorways, charging users shifts some traffic to low-quality, adjacent alternatives. This study tests whether charging for the use of the better road negatively affects road safety in the worst adjacent road in motorway industries where optimal pricing is not implemented. Results confirm the hypothesis, finding a toll elasticity of accidents involving victims of 0.5.