Introduction - The Social Cost of Road Crashes and Injuries June 2008 update

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

The social cost of road crashes and injuries is a measure of the total cost of road crashes to the nation. It includes loss of life and life quality, loss of productivity, medical, legal and court and property damage costs. Social cost information ensures consistent appraisal of the safety benefits from the prevention of road crashes and injuries.

1.2 Objective

This report provides estimates of average social costs per injury and per crash, after accounting for inflationary effects and any changes in the levels of non-reporting.It also accounts for the mix of crashes by area and severity, and the average number of injuries involved in a crash. The analysis is based on crash and injury data from 2005 to 2007. Unless otherwise indicated, all social cost estimates are expressed in June 2008 prices.

This report also provides estimates of the annual total social cost of road crashes and injuries in New Zealand, from 1997 to 2007. These estimates do not necessarily represent the actual total costs incurred as a result of road crashes. This is because the total social cost of road crashes and injuries depends on the number of cost components estimated and the estimation methods adopted. More importantly, the total social cost also depends on the level of adjustments (the size and their valuation) required to account for the non-reported cases. This report provides the best estimates based on the information available.

1.3 The update

This report is organised as follows: Section 2 gives a brief explanation of the methodologies used for estimating the total numbers of injuries and crashes, and the average social cost per injury and crash; Section 3 provides some guidance on the application of the average social cost estimates; and Section 4 provides estimates of average social costs per injury and per crash. Some technical details are given in Appendix A. Appendix B provides estimates of the total number of crashes and injuries and the price indices used in the update.



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