What is the Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes?
The costs of crashes can include property damage, lost earnings, lost household production, medical costs, emergency services, travel delay, vocational rehabilitation, workplace costs, and legal expenses.
Why is the Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes Important?
Motor vehicle crashes and the associated deaths and injuries are costly to society in both human and economic terms. A rising trend in the cost of crashes could indicate an increase in the number of crashes, an increase in the costs themselves, or an increase in the severity of crashes. Personal choices, from using a seat belt to driving while impaired also affect the number and severity of incidents. No matter which factors are driving the costs, if the trend is going up, society is losing.
How Has the Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes Changed Over the Years?
Over time, many of the factors involved in the cost of crashes have changed. More cars on the road and higher travel speeds have led to more crashes. Better safety equipment in cars has reduced crash severity. Improved emergency response and high tech medical care increase the number of crash victims that can be saved, but at a high monetary cost.
The best way for Maryland to reduce this cost is to reduce the number of crashes. Most crashes are the result of at least one poor decision. In fact, 93% of all traffic crashes are caused by driver error. Maryland’s Choose Safety for Life campaign seeks to reduce the number and severity of traffic crashes through a coordinated and collaborative approach that addresses driver skill enhancement, education, awareness, and behavior for all drivers in the State. Several new Maryland State driving laws also took effect in October 2009 that target driver performance and behavior. The laws include a ban on texting while driving, increased penalties for drunk driving, new restrictions on teen drivers, and the introduction of speed enforcement cameras in work zones and school zones.
Improvements to the roadways themselves are also important in reducing the number and severity of highway crashes. To address factors related to highway safety such as road design, roadway signs, pavement markings, operating conditions, roadside objects (such as utility poles, signs, trees, guardrails), bridges, and intersections, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) created a new Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). This program requires the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) to maintain a Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). The SHA stresses highway safety through the cooperative involvement of the Maryland State Police, Maryland Transportation Authority, and the various local Police and County engineering agencies.
Methodology & Data Sources
Motor Vehicle Crashes Data
Calculating motor vehicle crashes is challenging due to the severity of the crash triggering reporting of the crash. For instance, a drop in 1970s to 1980s is explained by a change in reporting requirements as very minor accidents are no longer reported since then. As there was a drop of about 50% in reported Property Damage Only (PDO) crashes between 1978 and 1980, values from 1980 onwards were corrected upwards by 50%. Since data was not available before 1977, accident costs were assumed to have risen along the same trend visible from 1977 to 1987.
Motor Vehicle Crashes Value
Using the methodology of previous studies, values per accident from the National Safety Council (NSC) Injury Facts 2004 were used. An alternative technique is used by the Maryland State Highway Administration. However since such estimates can diverge widely based on various assumptions, and the trend in actual accidents is the more relevant number, the NSC values were chosen here. The NSC calculates a cost of $1,024,000 per death, $36,000 per injury, and $6,400 per property da
Equation
[(Number of Deaths from Motor Vehicle Crashes) Multiplied by $1,024,000] Added to [(Number of Injuries from Motor Vehicle Crashes) Multiplied by $36,000] Added
Points of Contact
Meg Andrews, MDOT
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