Do Traffic Tickets Reduce Motor Vehicle Accidents? Evidence from a Natural Experiment
利用马萨诸塞州“系好安全带否则吃罚单”运动期间罚单激增的自然实验，发现交通罚单显著减少了事故和非致命伤害，且对夜间和女性驾驶员影响更大。
Abstract This paper analyzes the effect of traffic tickets on motor vehicle accidents. Ordinary least squares (OLS) estimate may be upward biased because police officers tend to focus on areas where and periods when there is heavy traffic and thus higher rates of accidents. This paper exploits the dramatic increase in tickets during the Click‐it‐or‐Ticket campaign to identify the causal impact of tickets on accidents using data from Massachusetts. I find that tickets significantly reduce accidents and nonfatal injuries. I provide suggestive evidence that tickets have a larger impact at night and on female drivers.