Q Not only, it is said, do road accidents cause a
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great deal of human suffering but they cost a great deal of money. Could you give some idea of these costs and who assesses them?
AThe Road Research Laboratory studies accidents, their causes and their costs, and makes periodic reports on the subject.
A recent RRL report, -Current costs of road accidents in Great Britain", gives the estimated cost of a fatal accident in Great Britain in 1970 as £19.000. The average cost of a serious injury accident is £1400, of a slight injury accident £250 and of a damage-only accident £100. The average cost of all acci dents divided by the number of injury accidents is £1600.
The AR L's analysis of accident costs broken down into areas shows that a fatal accident in an urban area costs £18.000, in a rural area £21.000 and on a motorway £24,000. These figures are calculated at 1970 costs.
Another interesting item from the report is that a fatal accident costs £320 more if it occurs at night but the average number of fatal accidents which actually occurred at night at the time of making this part icular survey-1968 —was almost 1000 less than the number which happened in the daytime.
The ambulance cost for each accident, according to the report, works out at about £15.
Copies of the report are available from the Director of Road Research, Road Research Laboratory. Crowthorne, Berkshire.