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Abstract
We examine whether legalizing local alcohol sales affects traffic safety, exploiting close local option elections in Texas as a quasi-random source of variation. Over 300 Texas cities voted to legalize alcohol sales between 2003 and 2019. Legalization generated large increases in off-premise alcohol licenses (liquor stores and grocery stores) with little change in on-premise establishments, and shifted alcohol sales from bars and restaurants toward retail outlets for home consumption. Despite these large changes in access, we find no meaningful increase in total crashes, DUI crashes, or fatal crashes, and no evidence of spillover effects on neighboring cities. This null result reflects which type of access was expanded: on-premise licenses are positively associated with crash rates while off-premise licenses are not, consistent with bars and restaurants (not retail stores) being the channel through which alcohol access raises traffic risk.