Substance Abuse Treatment and Motor Vehicle Fatalities

The danger of alcohol- and drug-impaired driving implies that policies that reduce substance abuse can save lives. We study this issue in small U.S. counties where access to substance abuse treatment can be measured directly through the presence of treatment facilities. We find that placing an addit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Southern economic journal 2010-04, Vol.76 (4), p.1032-1048
Main Authors: Freeborn, Beth A., McManus, Brian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcohol
Alcohol drinking
Alcoholism
Alcohols
Beer
Care and treatment
Clinics
Control
Death
Drink-driving
Drug abuse
Drunk driving
Fatalities
Health economics
Laws, regulations and rules
Motor vehicle traffic
Motor vehicles
Outpatient clinics
Population
Regulatory policy
Road accidents
Roads & highways
Standardized tests
Studies
Substance abuse
Substance abuse treatment
Taxes
Traffic accidents
Traffic accidents & safety
Traffic estimation
U.S.A
Vehicles
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Description
Summary:The danger of alcohol- and drug-impaired driving implies that policies that reduce substance abuse can save lives. We study this issue in small U.S. counties where access to substance abuse treatment can be measured directly through the presence of treatment facilities. We find that placing an additional treatment clinic in a county reduces the number of alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities by 15%. An additional outpatient clinic, which specializes in treating the local population, reduces the overall number of alcohol-related deaths by 26%. In the counties that we study, this reduction in alcohol-related accidents saves 0.66 lives per country per year.
ISSN:0038-4038
2325-8012
DOI:10.4284/sej.2010.76.4.1032