Seatbelt Laws: Behavioral Responses to Increased Law Enforcement and Organ Donation Effects

Every state but New Hampshire has some form of seat belt law to promote personal safety and reduce the negative externality imposed by risky behavior when operating a motor vehicle. However, these laws also potentially reduce a positive externality by minimizing an unintended consequence of fatal car crashes: the number of organ donors available. While motorcycle laws have received some attention, no research exists on the effects of seatbelt laws on total organ donation or on the mechanism(s) driving the law's effect. To close this gap, my research looks not only to provide the first estimates of seat belt laws' impact on organ donation but also whether this effect is driven by the behavioral responses of certain groups likely to be more sensitive to the enforcement of the law: young adults and African-Americans.

The relationship between seatbelt laws and the supply of organs is in some sense more interesting than motorcycle laws because their widespread nature impacts a far greater number of people. Further, it's unclear apriori what the impact on organ donation will be due to the possibility of moral hazard - increased seat belt use may increase the probability one survives a motor vehicle accident (organ donations decrease) but it may also lead to more accidents as people feel protected and drive more recklessly (organ donations increase). Either way, increased seatbelt usage may suggest that those in fatal accidents are better preserved and that organs which would have otherwise been too damaged for donation are now salvageable.

Unlike with motorcycle laws, the response to seatbelt laws likely varies across demographic groups which suggests the relationship between organ donation and seatbelt laws does too. For example, young adults are thought to be more risk loving which may suggest a higher likelihood of a fatal crash and organ donation. Conversely, they may respond more strongly to the law because they believe they're more likely to be targeted or because the costs of being stopped are higher (e.g., if they are engaging in underage drinking). Recent media attention on racial profiling and police brutality suggests similar arguments for African-Americans as well. As such, whether or not race and age are a mechanism driving the overall results will be an important contribution as well.

To estimate the effects of seatbelt laws on organ donation, I exploit variation in seat belt laws across states and over time. I use data on organ donations from the Organ Procurement Transplantation Network (OPTN) from the thirty-eight available states which allows me to link state seat belt laws with state specific-organ donation. The OPTN also keeps information on the circumstances of death as well as demographic information, allowing me to identify age and race specific donation responses. As the organ transplant waiting lists grow and the push to increase the supply of organ donations remains a major policy concern, these results will provide evidence of an unintended consequence of seat belt laws, allowing for a better understanding of the costs and benefits and more informed policy decisions.