Document Type
Article
Publication
Criminal Law Bulletin
Year
2011
Citation Information
Alexia Brunet Marks and Ronald J. Allen, To Tow Or Not to Tow: The Deterrence Effect of a Municipal Ordinance, 47 Crim. L. Bull. 410 (2011), available at https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/faculty-articles/1810.
Abstract
We examine the natural experiment caused by amendments to the City of Waukegan vehicular code adding mandatory impoundment and towing of vehicles for certain ticketed behavior. Multivariable negative binomial regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between tickets and accidents and implementation of the legislation while adjusting for the number of registered drivers and time. The legislation led to a 39% reduction in the total number of tickets, 55% reduction in the number of tickets for the four towable offenses, and a 37% reduction in accidents. Accidents to property decreased 39%, tickets decreased 39% for driving with a suspended/revoked license, 39% for driving under the influence, 53% for driving without a license, and 66% for driving an uninsured motor vehicle. All these results are significant at the 1% level and provide credible evidence of deterrence in a natural experiment setting. Previous studies have not documented the impact of legislation on deterrence in this way.
Copyright Statement
Copyright protected. Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required.