On the joint valuation of averting fatal and severe injuries in highway accidents.
BACKGROUND
To evaluate the benefits of road transport safety projects, planners need the monetary value of averting fatal and severe injuries. Usually, contingent valuation and risk-risk studies have been used. The contexts posed by both survey techniques do not represent the choice situation a driver faces when having to choose among alternative routes with different levels of safety.


METHODS
We set up a stated choice web page survey in which individuals had to choose between two routes for a hypothetical trip between two cities; thus implicitly revealing their preferences for safety both in terms of reducing the number of fatal victims and of severely injured victims.


RESULTS
For Chilean routes we were able to estimate approximate values of US$300,000 and US$140,000 for a reduction in one fatality and one severely injured victim, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Our evidence could be valuable for road planners in other developing nations.
Hojman
Pablo
P
Department of Transport Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 306, Cod. 105, Santiago 22, Chile.
de Dios Ortuzar
Juan
J
Rizzi
Luis Ignacio
LI
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000328:Adult; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008875:Middle Aged; D018986:Motor Vehicles / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010934:Planning Techniques; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012449:Safety; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*