Relationships between Economic growth, motorization and Road Traffic Safety Risks

As the economic and social development continues to develop, the accelerating process of motorization development and the increasing sophistication of road transportation have directly contributed to the gradual expansion of road traffic safety risks while bringing more conveniences and promoting growth.In order to deeply analyze the relationship between motorization development, road traffic safety and economic growth, this paper takes provincial panel dataof some authoritative statistics as reference, mitigates endogeneity through two-stage least squares（2SLS）,and controls for the effects of basic variables of economic and social development, such as infrastructure and natural conditions, industrial structure and urbanization, demographic characteristics, and governmental interventions, then conducts an in-depth analysis of the impact of motorization development on road in which the traffic safety risk is empirically tested.The results show that the improvement in the level of motorization has significantly driven the expansion of road traffic accident losses in China.The elasticity estimate for accident mortality rate is around 2.20 to 2.42,while the elasticity estimate for direct property losses from accidents is around 5.31 to 6.98.Based on empirical analysis and discussion, this article proposes that we should adhere to a combination of multiple measures and the participation of multiple stakeholders, implement targeted planning and adjustments for the number of motor vehicles and transportation infrastructure, increase investment in traffic safety governance, and focus on underdeveloped areas and rural areas.