10.2190/3NB4-GEB9-R2HA-AG83 3NB4GEB9R2HAAG83 4 Traffic Accidents, Time Value and the Benefits of Improvements in Environmental Visibility 53 63 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 3NB4GEB9R2HAAG83.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=3NB4GEB9R2HAAG83 1 Edward K. Mensah Seth Osei-Adjei University of Illinois, Chicago Port Authority of New York, New York University In the 1977 Amendments to the Clean Air Act Congress directed the Environmental Protection Agency to develop regulations aimed at remedying existing visibility impairments caused by man-made pollutants. The benefits of environmental visibility improvement include reductions in visibility-related health problems, increases in recreational activities, property value and rent increases resulting from good view, improvements in transportation and related business activities, increases in traffic safety, value of travel time saved by motorists, etc. This study uses multiple regression and linear probability models to estimate the monetary value of improvements in traffic safety and time saved by motorists in Cook County, Illinois, as visibility improves. Our results show that ten percent improvement in visibility reduces non-fatal accidents by 15.6 units per day, increases the probability of fatalities by 0.023 per day and reduces travel time by 0.34 miles per hour, yielding an aggregate net benefit of 43 million dollars per year in Cook County. U. S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatal Accident Reporting System, 1979, Report DOT HS 805 570, Washington, D. C., 1981. R. B. Husar, J. P. Lodge, and D. J. Moore (eds.), Sulfur in the Atmosphere: Proceedings of the International Symposium held in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, Sept. 7-14, 1977, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1978. David B. Joseph, Pollution Where You'd Least Expect It, <i>EPA Journal, 12</i>, pp. 23-25, 1986. J. Trijonis and K. Yuan, Visibility in the Northeast: Long-Term Visibility Trends and Visibility/Pollutant Relationships. Prepared for <i>USEPA</i>, Research Triangle, North Carolina 2771, 1978. Keith Schneider, Utilities to Take Steps to Cut Haze at Grand Canyon in <i>New York Times</i>, August 8, 1991. Accident Facts, <i>National Safety Council</i>, 1989 Edition, Chicago, Illinois. Lonnie E. Haefner and K. Edward, Optimal Geometric Design for Highway Safety, Highway Research Record No. 317, Washington, D. C. Highway Research Board, pp. 12-13, 1971. D. Gosh, L. Dennis, and S. William. Optimal Motorway Speed and Some Valuations of Time and Life, <i>Manchester School of Economics and Social Studies 43</i>, pp. 677-726, June 1975. R. S. Chirinko and E. Harper, Jr., Buckle-Up or Slow Down?: New Estimates of Offsetting Behavior and Their Implications for Automobile Safety Regulation, Unpublished Paper Presented at Economic and Policy Workshop (University of Chicago), November 8, 1987. R. Crandall and J. Graham, Automobile Safety Regulation and Offsetting Behavior: Some New Empirical Estimates, <i>American Economic Review, 74</i>, pp. 328-331, May 1984. S. Peltzman, The Effects of Automobile Safety Regulation, <i>Journal of Political Economy, 83</i>, pp. 677-725, August 1975. R. S. Pindyck and D. L. Rubinfield, Econometric Models and Economic Forecasts, McGraw Hill, Inc., New York, pp. 237-256, 1978. G. S. Tolley and R. Fabian (eds.), <i>Economic Value of Visibility</i>, Blackstone Press, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, 1988. P. MacAvoy, The Regulation of Accidents, in <i>Auto Safety Regulation: The Cure or the Problem</i>, H. G. Manne and R. L. Miller (eds.), Thomas Horton and Daughters, Glen Ridge, New Jersey, pp. 83-88, 1976. G. Fishelson, E. Mansah, and T. Smith, Aviation and Auto Traffic Safety, in <i>Economic Value of Visibility</i>, G. S. Tolley and R. Fabian (eds.), Blackstone Press, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, 1988. Barbara M. Faigan, Societal Costs of Motor Vehicle Accidents for Benefit-Cost Analysis, in Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress in Automotive Safety, Washington, D. C., U. S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Safety Administration, July 14-16, 1975. R. Thaler and S. Rosen, Value of Saving a Life: Evidence from the Labour Market, in <i>Household Production and Consumption, NBER Studies in Income and Wealth No. 40</i>, N. Terleckyj (ed.), Columbia University, New York, pp. 265-298, 1976.