User Costs—Another Human Factor

Implicit User Costs—Another Human Factor 

Implicit costs are recognized by motorists. Recall that motorists cite discomfort and inconvenience as a major deterrent to safety belt use. My own research indicates that discomfort costs are more than 7 times as large as time costs for manual lap belts. Individuals are considering implicit user costs in their own private assessment. 

The mistake of omitting implicit user costs is not new nor is it peculiar to the passive restraint issue. The Highway Safety Needs Report ranks various highway safety countermeasures by cost-effectiveness and finds  

Two countermeasures, mandatory seat belt usage the the national 55 mph speed limit, stand out above all others as having very large payoffs at relatively small unit investments. Moreover, the data on which the cost effectiveness of these two measures is based on equal to or superior to that which supports any other proposed measure.  

Indirectly, implicit user costs do bear on the decisions at NHTSA, but with quite different results. If public resistance to the restraint standard increases with implicit user costs then each of the last three major decisions by NHTSA reflect cognizance of implidt costs. Secretary of Transportation Coleman devised a demonstration program to test and enhance consumer acceptance. Secretary Adams dismissed the Coleman Rule and required passive restraints on the basis that public acceptance does not matter, and Secretary Lewis rescinded the requirement citing potential adverse consumer reaction. Viewed in this light all three secretaries had to deal with implicit costs. Ultimately administrative judgment will be required on passive restraints but explicit incorporation of user costs into benefit-cost analysis is conceptually appropriate. In one sense it is as a measure of public resistance. 

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Implicit User Costs—Another Human Factor... 

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