May 2007 - Unit Costs of Medium/Heavy Truck Crashes

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has released a study that provides the latest estimates of unit costs for highway crashes involving medium/heavy trucks by severity. According to the study, Unit Costs of Medium/Heavy Truck Crashes, based on the latest data available, the estimated cost of police-reported crashes involving trucks with a gross weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds (4,536 kg) averaged $91,112 (all dollar amounts in 2005 dollars).

These costs represent the present value, computed at a 4 percent discount rate, of all costs over the victims’ expected life span that result from a crash. They include medically related costs, emergency services costs, property damage costs, lost productivity, and the monetized value of the pain, suffering, and quality of life that the family loses because of a death or injury. The cost estimates exclude mental health care costs for crash victims, roadside furniture repair costs, cargo delays, earnings lost by family and friends caring for the injured, and the value of schoolwork lost.

Notable findings include:

• Crashes in which truck-tractors with two or three trailers were involved were the rarest, but their cost was the highest among all crashes – $ 289,549 per crash.
• Crashes in which straight trucks with no trailers were involved had the lowest cost – $ 56,296 per crash.
• The average cost of property damage only (PDO) crashes was $15,114.
• The costs per non-fatal injury crash averaged $195,258.
• As expected, fatal crashes cost more than any other crashes. The average cost of fatal crashes was $3,604,518 per crash.

The full report can be accessed at http://ai.volpe.dot.gov/CarrierResearchResults/PDFs/Crash%20Costs%202006.pdf.

COPYRIGHT ©2007, ISO Services Properties, Inc.

The information contained in this publication was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. ISO Services Properties, Inc., its companies and employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with either the information herein contained or the safety suggestions herein made. Moreover, it cannot be assumed that every acceptable safety procedure is contained herein or that abnormal or unusual circumstances may not warrant or require further or additional procedure.