Road Safety Efficiency on Interurban Roads in Spain

The slowdown in economic development caused by traffic accidents in Spain, together with the disparity in the risk of death or injury due to traffic accidents in its provinces, makes it necessary to evaluate their road safety performance. Therefore, the objectives of the present research are, on the one hand, to find out the level of road safety efficiency of Spanish provinces in the period 2014-2018. On the other hand, it is also aimed to determine to what extent the annual efficiency change is originated by pure changes in efficiency or by technological changes. To achieve both objectives, the nonparametric technique of Data Envelopment Analysis and the Malmquist Index have been used based on the consideration of the Safety Performance Indicators (SPI) as the inputs of the process. The research findings show changes in the level of road safety efficiency in each of the years of the study period. Thus, it is possible to identify a geographical delimitation of the causes that generate changes in efficiency in recent years. A contraction in efficiency and technological progress is identified in part of the Spanish provinces in the north, northeast, and south of Spain.