Abstract
The main goal of this research is to measure the effect of certain medical and optometric standards on traffic safety, on the private costs of trucking firms, and on the total or social costs incurred. More specifically, we want to check whether existing standards are linked to the significant factors used in calculating the rates of trucking accidents1 (frequency and severity). In other words, do truck drivers with diabetes mellitus, coronary disease, visual impairment, or high blood pressure have a significantly higher accident rate and more serious accidents than drivers who are officially in good health. We also want to check what impact these potentially higher levels of the frequency and severity of accidents may have on the reimbursements made by private insurance companies and on the net costs for trucking firms. The social or total costs for society are also included in our research protocol. The data from the study have made it possible to establish statistical links between truckers’ risk exposure and their accident rates. The results of this research are relevant to traffic safety regulations, because trucking accidents generate important externalities for society.
Laboratory on Transportation Safety, CRT, Université de Montréal. This research was funded by the Ministère des Transports du Québec (M.T.Q.), the Fonds pour la Formation de chercheurs et l’aide à la recherche (FCAR) and the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (S.A.A.Q.). The team would like to extend its thanks to several persons and companies which agreed to collaborate in this research: Transports Provost Inc., Cabano-Kingsway Inc., and a general insurance company. We are also grateful for the collaboration of the following persons: Bertrand Bordeleau, Guy Croteau, François Gagnon, Josée Génois, Anne Gibbens, Jean-François Guilloteau, Pierre Joly, Pierre Lafontaine, André McMahon, Robert Ouimet, Joseph-Arthur Servant, Alain Turcotte, and Charles Vanasse. The authors express their appreciation to the anonymous referees for their constructive comments on an earlier version.
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Dionne, G., Laberge-Nadeau, C., Desjardins, D., Messier, S., Maag, U. (1999). Analysis of The Economic Impact of Medical and Optometric Driving Standards on Costs Incurred by Trucking Firms and on the Social Costs of Traffic Accidents. In: Dionne, G., Laberge-Nadeau, C. (eds) Automobile Insurance: Road Safety, New Drivers, Risks, Insurance Fraud and Regulation. Huebner International Series on Risk, Insurance, and Economic Security, vol 20. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4058-8_22
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