City Research Online

Abstract

High-emission private vehicles contribute disproportionately to urban air pollution, which, together with traffic accidents, constitutes a major public health threat and a leading cause of death among young adults. The tension between individual driving habits and collective environmental responsibility highlights the pressing need for strategies promoting safer driving. This paper introduces a novel approach to evaluating road crash risk by using air pollutants as exposure measures, thereby encouraging drivers to reduce both their environmental footprint and mitigate their crash risk. We analyze a dataset of over 1,500 at-fault crash-related claims recorded over two years by an insurance company, merged with detailed telematics driving data for individual vehicles. We show that emission factor models can effectively incorporate emission-based exposure measures into crash risk models. We also provide empirical evidence that incorporating behavioral telematics data allows pollutant-driven models to perform as efficiently as traditional distance-driven models. The approach reported has the potential to enhance road safety and reduce air pollution by directly linking environmentally conscious driving practices with lower road crash risks.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2026 Wiley. This is the accepted manuscript of an article published by Wiley. Please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions for information on re-use.
Publisher Keywords:	air pollution; crash risk; public health; road accident; telematics; transportation
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HG Finance R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Departments:	Bayes Business School Bayes Business School > Faculty of Finance
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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