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Abstract
In an effort to reduce the enormous cost of road crashes in New Zealand, estimated at NZ$3.3 billion in 1994, the Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) implemented an enhanced campaign of speed and alcohol enforcement, supported by graphic and shocking television advertising in October 1995. Due to the high opportunity cost (money could be used elsewhere) and fear appeals of the advertisements, the campaign has generated considerable public debate that was fuelled by several evaluations with differing outcomes. This paper adds to the current debate by reviewing some of the previous evaluations and re-estimating the effectiveness of the campaign by using an alternate model. Our results showed that the campaign was effective in reducing the number of serious casualties during the first two years.
Introduction
Road crashes have been among the leading causes of deaths in many developed and developing countries (Peltzman, 1975; Kenkel, 1993) and exact a high cost on society. In 1994, there were 580 fatalities and 3268 serious injuries resulting from traffic accidents in New Zealand (LTSA, 2001), and the corresponding annual social cost is estimated to be NZ$3.3 billion (LTSA, 1996). This cost includes the estimated cost of productivity loss due to death and injury, emergency and hospital costs, direct pain and suffering, and property damage. The total cost of traffic accidents, however, is expected to be much higher because it will also include, among others, trauma experienced by third parties, traffic disruptions and delays, and policy, judicial and administrative costs associated with an increase in the demand for road safety interventions.
In an effort to reduce the social cost of road crashes, the Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) of New Zealand implemented a Supplementary Road Safety Package (SRSP) in October 1995. The SRSP received a funding of NZ$12.2 million per year for 4 years, of which NZ$7.1 million per year was allocated for the publicity campaign and $5 million for enhanced enforcement activities (LTSA, 1998). The advertising budget was increased to NZ$8.4 million to include advertising to support seatbelt enforcement (LTSA, 1998) and, subsequently increased to NZ$9.8 million in the following year (Marketing, 1998). Although the complete SRSP involves the use of speed cameras and compulsory breath testing (Cameron and Vulcan, 1998), it is evident from...