In a recent publication, the American Automobile Association (AAA) revealed that the cost of crashes involving injuries or death was much higher than previously estimated, and is three times higher than the economic cost of traffic congestion.
The economic cost of traffic congestion is relatively easy to calculate, as a combination of fuel spent and time lost. Across the nation, the average commuter loses an estimated 34 hours of time every year. While Milwaukee commuters only lose an average of 27 hours per year, in the largest urban areas the yearly total can reach 74 lost hours with peak hours lasting up to six hours per day. Taken all together, the cost of the nation’s traffic congestion is estimated at some $100 billion a year. This amount may seem huge, but pales in comparison with the calculated cost of Wisconsin road accidents.
In its November 2011 update of a previous study, the AAA excluded accidents that resulted in “property damage only” and calculated the economic cost of auto accidents based on 11 factors:
- Medical expenses
- Cost of emergency services
- Loss of earning
- Workplace productivity loss
- Administrative costs
- Property damage
- Travel delays
- Vocational rehabilitation
- Loss of household work
10. Legal costs
11. Pain and suffering
With two million injuries and 30,000 fatalities per year, the economic cost based on the computing of these 11 factors amounts, for 439 urban areas in America, to $300 billion, three times the cost of traffic congestion. The calculated cost of traffic accidents would be even higher if rural communities had been included in the study.
If you have been injured in an auto accident in Wisconsin, contact the attorneys at Hupy and Abraham today.