Ridehailing and Alcohol-Involved Traffic Fatalities in the United States: The Average and Heterogeneous Association of Uber
Abstract
Introduction
Ridehailing services such as Uber have been promoted as viable interventions for curbing alcohol-involved driving fatalities. However, evidence of ridehailing’s impact has been mixed, with some studies finding no association but others finding either an increase or a decrease in fatalities. This study contributes to this literature by examining more recent years of data, which capture a period during which Uber ridership has grown substantially and alcohol-involved fatalities have increased. Furthermore, this study tests whether the relationship between Uber availability and traffic fatalities depends on local characteristics.
Method
The study employs multivariate regression models to test the association between Uber availability and total, alcohol-involved, and weekend and holiday-specific traffic fatalities in the 100 most populated metropolitan areas in the United States between 2009 and 2017.
Results and conclusion
This study finds that Uber availability is not associated with changes in total, alcohol-involved, and weekend and holiday-specific traffic fatalities in aggregate, yet it is associated with increased traffic fatalities in urban, densely populated counties.