The trade-off between efficiency and equity in road safety policy

Abstract

This paper discusses the relationship between efficiency and equity as objectives of road safety policy. The term efficiency refers to the efficient use of all road safety measures. Road safety measures are used efficiently if the priority given to them is based on the criterion that marginal social benefits should be at least equal to marginal social costs. To use road safety measures efficiently therefore means that the priority given to each measure is set strictly according to cost–benefit analyses. Thus, the main question discussed in this paper is whether setting priorities for safety measures strictly according to cost–benefit analyses will produce results that are regarded as equitable and fair. The notions of equity and fairness do not have any universally accepted definitions. In the paper, an attempt is made to apply John Rawls’ difference principle as a criterion of fairness with respect to the distribution of risk. The distribution of risk is examined along several dimensions: between groups of road users, between regions, between social groups, and with respect to the relationship between who pays for a road safety measure and who benefits from it. It is concluded that there is a conflict between efficiency and equity as far as the provision of road safety is concerned. Promoting greater equity requires a departure from efficiency, as defined in economic welfare theory, as the only criterion for setting policy priorities.