The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

Free-Market Transportation: Denationalizing the Roads 5
The immediate need was to get the country out of the mud, to
get a connected paved road system that would connect all
county seats and population centers with mudless, dustless
roads. These were the pioneering years. Safety, volume, and traffic
operations were not considered a problem. But by the middle
thirties there was an awakening and a recognition that these
elements were vital to efficient and safe operation of the highway
system. 6
By the “middle thirties,” indeed, nearly one-half million people
had fallen victim to traffic fatalities. 7
Rather than invoking indignation on the part of the public,
government management of the roads and highways is an
accepted given. Apart from Ralph Nader, who only inveighs
against unsafe vehicles (only a limited part of the problem), there
is scarcely a voice raised in opposition.
The government seems to have escaped opprobrium because
most people blame traffic accidents on a host of factors other than
governmental mismanagement: drunkenness, speeding, lack of
caution, mechanical failures, etc. Typical is the treatment undertaken
by Sam Peltzman, who lists no less than thirteen possible
causes of accident rates without even once mentioning the fact of
government ownership and management.
Vehicle speed . . . alcohol consumption . . . the number of young
drivers, changes in drivers’ incomes . . . the money costs of accidents.
. the average age of cars . . . the ratio of new cars to all
cars (because it has been suggested that while drivers familiarize
themselves with their new cars, accident risk may increase)
6Statement by Charles M. Noble, distinguished traffic engineer who
served as director of the Ohio Department of Highways, chief engineer of
the New Jersey Turnpike, and was recipient of the Matson Memorial Award
for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Traffic Engineering.
Charles M. Noble, “Highway Design and Construction Related to Traffic
Operations and Safety,” Traffic Quarterly (November 1971): 534; emphasis
added.
7Accident Facts, p. 13.