The hidden costs of road traffic accidents

THIS is Road Safety Week (November 18-24), with a theme of “step up for safe streets”.

Every 20 minutes someone is killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads. Road users will be encouraged to step up by minimising road use, pledging to use roads safely and campaigning for road safety solutions in the hope of preventing these tragic occurrences.

Of course, every death or serious injury is a personal tragedy that is life changing for the injured person or the bereaved.

However, in addition, it may be there is a strong business case for improved road safety when the hidden costs are considered.

Of course there is the cost to the individual concerned and often to the NHS.

For a business when staff are involved in car accidents losses can include lost time, sick pay, recruiting and training new staff, production delays, loss of skills and efficiency within the workforce and administrative time.

Although there does not seem to be a reliable figure in the UK, estimates in the USA suggest the costs of road traffic accidents is at $820 per head of population, or about $230 billion per year.

Of course, economic cost is important, but each event of this type is a personal tragedy, and usually preventable.

So during Road Safety Week maybe all of us can reflect on how we use our roads, and pledge to use roads safely, in our business to choose safe system solutions, promote safe road usage messages to colleagues and to lobby policy makers demanding better systems to keep all of us safe.

One road death is one too many; the time for action is here.

Philip Edwards, Partner, Serious Injury Team at Clarke Willmott LLP

T: 0345 209 1875 E: philip.edwards@ clarkewillmott.com W: www.clarkewillmott.com