Is counter-productive policy creating serious consequences? The case of highway maintenance

While regional development is seen by some as necessary for the growth of a town or city, the impact of such development may not have been carefully considered. The effect on local infrastructure, and in particular roadway conditions, can have varying economic impacts on a region. This same regional development has unintended consequences for small towns, creating damage to the infrastructure, increased pressure on existing budgets and, in some cases, vehicular accidents, which could have been avoided. The model, extracted from a larger study, is used to evaluate the effect of road conditions on accident development. A review of the literature revealed possible errors in some of the research upon which road maintenance policy is based. Specifically, where accidents are concerned, conflicting studies have made the development of policy difficult. A system dynamics model was developed to evaluate alternative views and their consequence on policy. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.