THE DETERRENT EFFECT OF TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT ON OHIO CRASHES, 1995-2004

by Falinski, Giles L.

THE DETERRENT EFFECT OF TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT ON OHIO CRASHES, 1995-2004 (204 PP.) FALINSKI, GILES L., Ph.D., August, 2009 POLITICAL SCIENCE Director of Dissertation: David A. Kessler, Ph.D. In the worlds of criminology and sociology, deterrence theory cannot be said to enjoy the degree of preeminence it holds in the world of those who practice it while attempting to address the traffic crash problem. Critics of these public policies argue that the goal of much traffic enforcement is revenue, not safety, and if there is no public safety benefit to it, the practice borders on the unethical. This research tests deterrence theory on the county level in the State of Ohio during the years 1995 through 2004, using cross sectional time series analysis with panel corrected standard errors. Deterrence is operationalized both as non-crash convictions and as speeding convictions. These independent variables are combined with demographic and operational variables for testing conditional factors. Additively and interactively, models indicate negative relationships exist between convictions and crash rates. The research considers these results in light of specifications to deterrence theory.