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One of the principal causes of tourist deaths worldwide appears to be road accidents. However, the literature rarely addresses tourist road safety by exploring spatial variations. This paper covers the gap that exists as to how tourism can influence road safety (as a negative externality) and examines the case of Spanish NUTS-3 regions, particularly interesting due to Spain having been the world's second most-visited country for five consecutive years. Our findings show a higher traffic accident rate for foreign drivers and indicate that tourism traffic safety is a relevant topic that should be incorporated into road safety policy planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying econometric techniques to EU28 panel data and controlling for explanatory variables such as road types, we find that increased truck load capacity does not necessarily aggravate road traffic safety. Specifically, heavy trucks do not seem to be linked with greater numbers of traffic fatalities/accidents, medium trucks appear to be the worst performers in terms of fatalities, and light trucks seem to be the worst for accidents. In summary, our results clarify the complex relationship between truck load capacity and road safety, pointing to the existence of a negative correlation for accidents per capita and an inverse U-shaped curve for fatalities per capita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the impact on the traffic accident rate of the interaction between trucks and cars on Europe’s roads using a panel data set that covers the period 1999–2010. We find that rising motorization rates for trucks lead to higher traffic fatalities, while rising motorization rates for cars do not. Empirically, the model we build predicts the positive impact of stricter speed limit legislation for trucks in the reduction of road fatalities. These findings lend support to European strategies and aimed at promoting alternative modes of freight transport, including rail and maritime transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: One of the most popular coactive measures developed to prevent road traffic accidents in recent decades is the implementation of driving licenses based on points systems (PS) which penalize repeat offenders with suspension or withdrawal of their licenses. This paper analyzes their rapid spread worldwide through an in-depth review of the existing literature. A comprehensive meta-analysis of the effects of PS on road traffic accidents and the duration of these effects has been conducted. The findings show that the strong initial positive impact (15 to 20% reductions in accidents, fatalities and injuries) seems to wear off in under eighteen months. This limited effectiveness is related to the absence of complementary enforcement to back up these measures. Without them, points systems could turn into a boomerang road safety policy, and even be abandoned at a later date. The implications of the conclusions for legislation and future research are considered. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: At the beginning of the 21st century, the punishment strategies used by the Spanish administration were considerably hardened to achieve a reduction in road accidents. This hardening could also be seen in the mass-media public advertising campaigns, with a marked shift from gentle messages to threat-based advertisements. The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of this radical change in terms of main road accident indicators and the time that the effects last using multivariate unobserved component models set up in a state space framework applied to monthly series for the 1980–2008 period. The main conclusion is that the effect on reducing road accidents is no greater when citizens are subjected to a greater level of threats in advertising campaigns than would on average be achieved using campaigns with a low level of threats. Secondly, the impact of bloody advertising in Spain is limited to the most serious accidents, those that cause deaths, either on highways or in built-up areas. Moreover, the positive effects progressively decrease as the average lifespan for significant effects of medium and high level campaigns on deaths on highways or in built-up areas was 8months and almost 12days. The results show that a reduction in numbers of deaths and injuries is always achieved when the level of harshness in the messages is increased after a period of several years of mild advertising. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The goal of this article is to evaluate the impact of the drastic Spanish Penal Code reform on the number of road deaths in Spain and the time that the effects might last. This is achieved by means of multivariate unobserved component models set up in a state space framework estimated using maximum likelihood. In short, with this reform Spain might be considered to be closing the final gap that kept it apart from other developed countries as far as the road accident rate is concerned. We have found two different types of effects on Spanish road traffic fatalities. Initially, a month before the reform was passed there was a 24.7 percent fall in Spanish road deaths. After the Bill had been passed and for the following thirteen months, thereductionstayed at a constant sixteen percent. This reform has reduced Spanish road fatalities by 534 in all between November 2007 and December 2008 and the effects will foreseeably continue during 2009. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Capital injections were necessary for some EU states due to economic crisis by the so-called Troika. • Financial intervention reduces traffic safety policy budgets but might also have a positive effect on traffic safety. • Our results would dispute the negative evidence about austericity and the way in which the EU handled the economic crisis. • There is a robust non-linear Kuznets curve between road safety (also accidents) and economic development. The recent economic crisis has required the bailout of some European States by the so-called Troika , with capital injections accompanied by financial austerity. This paper analyzes econometrically the impact of this support programme on road safety for an original panel data (1995–2015). The findings also corroborate the Kuznets curve hypothesis for traffic accidents in the long term. Regarding the impact of intervention in the short term, despite reductions in safety policy budgets due to austerity, financial support, and related austerity measures might have led to an improvement in road safety, reducing both the number of accidents and fatalities. Therefore, it seems that our result is more linked to the austerity measures than to the financial support given by the Troika. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]