Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
Creation-Date: 2020-05-17
Number: 20-024/VIII
Author-Name: Devi Brands
Author-Workplace-Name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Author-Name: Joris Klingen
Author-Workplace-Name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Author-Name: Francis Ostermeijer
Author-Workplace-Name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Title: Hands on the Wheel, Eyes on the Phone: the Effect of Smart Phone Usage on Road Safety
Abstract: We provide novel evidence on the effect of smart phone use on road accidents. We exploit variation in phone usage fees in the Netherlands following a change in European Union (EU) roaming regulations implemented in 2017. The growth rate of mobile data roaming increased substantially after the change, which allows us to estimate a difference-in-differences model where non-Dutch drivers from the EU are treated, while Dutch drivers serve as control group. Our results suggest that around 10% of vehicles involved in accidents can be explained by the use of smart phones, and that these accidents mainly happen on urban roads.
Classification-JEL: K42, R41, I12
Keywords: road safety, accident risk, smart phones, urban roads
File-URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/20024.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 1754210 bytes
Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20200024