Southern Economic Journal 2010, 76(4), 1032–1048 Substance Abuse Treatment and Motor Vehicle Fatalities

The danger of alcohol- and drug-impaired driving implies that policies that reduce substance abuse can save lives. We study this issue in small U.S. counties where access to substance abuse treatment can be measured directly through the presence of treatment facilities. We find that placing an additional treatment clinic in a county reduces the number of alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities by 15%. An additional outpatient clinic, which specializes in treating the local population, reduces the overall number of alcohol-related deaths by 26%. In the counties that we study, this reduction in alcohol-related accidents saves 0.66 lives per county per year.