Understanding the harm from U.S. motor vehicle crashes

Miller, Ted; Lestina, Diane; Galbraith, Maury; Schlax, Tim; Mabery, Pamela; Deering, Richard; Massie, Dawn; Campbell, Kenneth

Affiliations

¹National Public Services Research Institute, Landover, Maryland

²Crash Avoidance Department, General Motors Safety and Restraints Center, Warren, Michigan

³University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Abstract

The personal and societal losses caused by motor vehicle crashes are significant. This paper provides tools which describe these losses for 30 different crash types. Persons involved with the development and implementation of crash countermeasures can use these tools to prioritize their countermeasure approach.

Multiple vehicle crashes currently account for much larger direct costs but only slightly more years lost than single vehicle crashes. Direct expenditures on multiple vehicle crashes exceed $41 billion per year; they claim 974,000 years of life and functioning. Direct expenditures on single vehicle crashes exceed $18 billion per year; they claim 937,000 years of life and functioning.

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Cited By (1)

Year	Entry
1996	Blincoe LJ. The Economic Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 1994. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Dept of Transportation; July 1996. NHTSA Technical Report DOT HS 808 524.