Economic Valuation of Road Traffic Accidents in Slovakia: Comparing the Value of Statistical Life and Relative Severity Index for Transport Policy Decision-Making

The paper analyses the economic impact of the reduction in road traffic accidents in Slovakia between 2000 and 2024 and quantifies both direct and indirect costs of road crashes. Over this period, annual crashes declined from more than 50,000 to approximately 11,500 and fatalities from over 600 to 262, demonstrating the effectiveness of national road safety strategies. The methodology is based on the national road accident database, complemented by macroeconomic and demographic indicators, and follows European recommendations for the valuation of external costs of transport. The study applies the value of a statistical life, the value of a statistical life year, the relative severity index and the critical accident rate, with particular emphasis on comparing the value of a statistical life and the relative severity index. The total VSL-based economic costs of road traffic crashes in 2024 are estimated at approximately €1.25 billion, underscoring the scale of the socioeconomic burden. Building on the forecasted values for 2025, the paper further tests and compares these methodologies on a specific road section, illustrating their practical implications for project appraisal and safety management. The results confirm that VSL-based estimates systematically exceed RSI-based estimates by 21–45% per year, reflecting the broader societal costs captured by the VSL concept. The study shows that investments in safety measures are economically worthwhile and reduce the burden on public finances, while also highlighting the need to harmonize methodologies and improve data quality.