Re: AAA Study: Cost of Crashes Tops $164.2 Billion Each Year
- From: "Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS" <betaxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:35:17 -0700 (PDT)
On Mar 31, 8:23 am, gpsman <gps...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
March 27, 2008
AAA Study: Cost of Crashes Tops $164.2 Billion Each Year
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. --- The societal cost of crashes is a staggering
$164.2 billion annually, nearly two and a half times greater than the
$67.6 billion price tag for congestion, according to a new report
released by AAA.
The report, "Crashes vs. Congestion: What's the Cost to Society?,"
demonstrates that traffic safety issues warrant increased attention
from the public and policymakers, particularly as Congress prepares to
reauthorize federal transportation programs in 2009.
"Most Americans will be surprised to learn that motor vehicle crashes
cost more than the congestion they face on their daily commute to
work," said AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet. "Great work has
been done by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) to quantify the
costs of congestion, raise awareness for the problem and offer
solutions. We feel safety deserves a similar focus."
According to the study conducted by Cambridge Systematics, the $164.2
billion cost for crashes equates to an annual per person cost of
$1,051, compared to $430 per person annually for congestion. These
safety costs include medical, emergency and police services, property
damage, lost productivity, and quality of life, among other things.
The report calculates the costs of crashes for the same metropolitan
areas covered by the annual Urban Mobility Report conducted by TTI. In
every metropolitan area studied, from very large to small, the results
showed crash costs exceeded congestion. For very large urban areas
(more than 3 million), crash costs are nearly double those of
congestion. Those costs rise to more than seven times congestion costs
in small urban areas (less than 500,000) where congestion is less of a
challenge.
"Nearly 43,000 people die on the nation's roadways each year," said
Darbelnet. "Yet, the annual tally of motor vehicle-related fatalities
barely registers as a blip in most people's minds. It's time for motor
vehicle crashes to be viewed as the public health threat they are. If
there were two jumbo jets crashing every week, the government would
ground all planes until we fixed the problem. Yet, we've come to
accept this sort of death toll with car crashes."
The report includes several recommendations to improve safety,
including support for a national safety goal of cutting surface
transportation fatalities in half by 2025, as recommended by the
National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission.http://www.automotive-fleet.com/Channel/Safety-Accident-Management/Ne...
The report may be found here-http://www.aaanewsroom.net/Main/Default.asp?CategoryID=7&ArticleID=596
-----
- gpsman
I've been saying this for years. Cracking down on criminal drivers
would not only save lives but lots of money. Throwing criminal drivers
in prison would pay for itself a hundred-fold.
.
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