On the road again: traffic fatalities and auto insurance minimums

Variable Name

Variable Description

Mean (Std. Dev.)

Traffic fatality rate
(FARS, 2009)

Traffic fatalities divided by state population measured in thousands.

0.18
(0.06)

Auto insurance minimum
(State-by-State Insurability Requirements, 2009)

Per accident minimum liability amount (in thousands of dollars) adjusted for inflation using GDP deflator.

59.36
(23.53)

Young population share
(Ponicki, 2004)

Share of people 18-24 years of age in state population.

0.11
(0.01)

Old population share
(Ponicki, 2004)

Share of people 65 and older in state population.

0.12
(0.02)

Minimum drinking age
(Ponicki, 2004)

Minimum legal drinking age for spirits in years.

20.59
(0.93)

Gasoline price
(EIA, 2009)

Per gallon gasoline price in constant dollars.

1.90
(0.41)

Income per capita
(BEA, 2009)

Real GDP/total population (in thousands).

39.74
(10.38)

Population density
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2009)

Total population/square mile of land.

0.17
(0.24)

Alcohol consumption
(The Beer Institute, 2008)

Alcohol consumption in gallons per capita for state population over the age of 17.

2.39
(0.56)

Precipitation
(NCDC, 2017; 2017a)

Average weighted annual rain and snow fall in inches.

3.09
(1.26)

Air temperature
(NCDC, 2017; 2017a)

Average weighted annual air temperature in Fahrenheit.

52.50
(7.61)

Speed limit
(IIHS, 2017)

Average (rural and urban) speed limit in miles per hour.

60.03
(6.15)

Crime rate
(Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2017)

Overall crime rate.

0.05
(0.01)

Primary seatbelt law
(NHTSA, 2009)

Dummy variable: 1 if state has a primary seatbelt law, 0 if otherwise.

0.22
(0.42)

Compulsory insurance
(Cohen and Dehejia, 2004)

Dummy variable=1 if state has compulsory insurance (0 otherwise).

0.73
(0.44)

No-fault liability
(Cohen and Dehejia, 2004)

Dummy variable=1 if state has no-fault liability law (0 otherwise).

0.28
(0.45)