Not a Sip: Effects of Zero Tolerance Laws on Road Traffic Fatalities

A substantial proportion of alcohol related fatalities and their consequences are preventable, prompting policymakers to implement measures aimed at reducing these deaths. I exploit time and geographic variation in the adoption of zero-tolerance laws in a difference-in-differences design to study the impact of these regulations on traffic-related incidents. Using county-level data, I find no sizable reductions in fatalities and an increase in injury counts after the adoption of such laws. I do not find significant changes in several measures of alcohol consumption, consistent with the lack of reduction in driving fatalities.