The total economic costs of motor vehicle crashes in the United States for the year 2000 have increased an estimated 50 percent since the last study was conducted in 1994, according to recent research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published in the September 19 issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine. This increase represents costs associated with 41,821 fatalities, 5.3 million injuries, and 28 million damaged vehicles, and reflects costs for police-reported and unreported crashes occurring in 2000. The total cost identified ($230.6 billion) includes expenses resulting from productivity losses, property damage, medical costs, rehabilitation costs, travel delays, legal costs, emergency services, insurance administration costs, and costs to employers. Alcohol continues to be a major factor in motor vehicle crashes. Forty percent (16,792) of all traffic fatalities in 2000 were alcohol related, accounting for 46 percent of total costs from alcohol-related crashes. In addition, there were 513,000 nonfatal injuries and $51 billion in economic costs resulting from such crashes. Seventy-five percent of the alcohol crash costs were from collisions in which the blood alcohol concentration levels were measured at 0.10 percent or greater. According to the report, many drivers involved in crashes are the ones still breaking laws, such as speeding and driving while impaired. The costs involved are passed onto society as a whole through insurance premiums, taxes, and travel delays. In 2000, these costs totaled more than $170 billion.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
A 2003 study studied this question.