§ Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated cost to public funds is of(a) a fatal road crash, (b) a road crash involving a serious injury and (c) a road crash involving a slight injury; and what the costs were in each case in 1994. [154703]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe values currently used to estimate the benefits of the avoidance of road accidents are set out in the "Highways Economic Note No.1: 2002 Valuation of the Benefits of Prevention of Road Accidents and Casualties" a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
These values, based on 2002 casualty data, were (a) fatal £1,447,490, (b) serious £168,260, (c) slight £16,750. These amounts are the values to be used in cost benefit analysis. They take account of medical costs, lost production, human costs based on willingness to pay for reduction of risk, the costs of police and courts, insurance administration, and property damage. Included within these values are the cost to public funds for hospital and ambulance costs and the costs of police and courts. In 2002, these costs were £6,860, £11,900 and £1,020 for fatal, serious and slight accidents respectively. The lost production element includes social security costs but these are not separately estimated. The equivalent estimates for 1994 for the avoidance of road accidents were (a) fatal £913,140, (b) serious £108,080, and (c) slight £10,630. In 1994 the costs for hospital and ambulance and police and courts were £5,120, £8,330 and £700 for fatal, serious and slight accidents respectively.