By Erich Vieth on September 28th, 2008
High price of gasoline saves lives
How can expensive gasoline save lives?
An analysis of yearly vehicle deaths compared to gas prices found death rates drop significantly as people slow down and drive less. If gas remains at $4 a gallon or higher for a year or more, traffic deaths could drop by more than 1,000 per month nationwide, said Michael Morrisey, Ph.D., director of UAB’s Lister Hill Center for Health Policy and a co-author on the new findings.
I suppose that there are some set-offs too, such as people putting off getting to the doctor when they really need to be tested or hospitalized.
Consider, also, this post: Eight ways to allow 3,000 people to die: a lesson in moral clarity.
Along these same lines, the current (Oct.) issue of Harper’s magazine reports that the “gas tax holiday” (which was supported by John McCain) would have caused 66 additional road deaths.