NHTSA: Cost for US crashes high

DETROIT — Traffic crashes in the U.S. cost society $340 billion in one year, or just over $1,000 for each of the country’s 328 million people, according to a study by safety regulators.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it studied crashes in calendar year 2019 that killed an estimated 36,500 people, injured 4.5 million and damaged 23 million vehicles.

With fatal crashes rising dramatically in 2021, the Transportation Department began pushing a “safe systems approach” to reduce crashes. It includes safer roads, behavior, vehicles and speeds, as well as better aftercrash care. The cost of the crashes amounted to 1.6% of the $21.4 trillion gross domestic product in 2019, the agency said.