PROPERTY DAMAGE COST ANALYSIS AND ACCIDENT REDUCTION BENEFITS

A SURVEY HAS BEEN MADE OF SAVINGS REALIZED BY THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM (IHS) IN PROPERTY DAMAGE COSTS ARISING FROM TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS ON THE IHS AS COMPARED WITH THOSE ON THE HIGHWAYS THE IHS REPLACED. THE MAJOR FINDINGS ARE AS FOLLOWS: (1) WITH RESPECT TO ACCIDENTS WHOSE COST EXCEEDED $500, A HIGHER PROPORTION OCURRED IN RURAL THAN URBAN AREAS AND ON THE IHS THAN ON CONVENTIONAL URBAN AND RURAL HIGHWAYS. (2) OWING LARGELY TO THE NUMBER OF STATES THAT DO NOT REPORT PROPERTY DAMAGE COSTS, ABOUT 25% OF THE ACCIDENTS REPORTED STATED NO PROPERTY DAMAGE. (3) THE AVERAGE PROPERTY COSTS FOR ALL IHS ACCIDENTS REPORTED WAS ABOUT $450, IN 1964 DOLLARS. (FOR ALL YEARS REPORTED, THE ACCIDENT MEAN FELL IN 1964.) (4) A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE OF PROPERTY DAMAGE COSTS SAVED BY THE IHS IN 1975 IS $250 MILLION (1946 DOLLARS).

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 2, 18 PP, 14 TAB, 18 REF, 3 APP
• Corporate Authors:

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • FEE, J A
  • Beatty, R L
  • Dietz, S K
  • Kaufman, S F
  • Yates, J G
• Publication Date: 1970-10

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Costs; Crashes; Loss and damage; Property; Rural highways; Traffic crashes; Urban highways
• Identifier Terms: Interstate Highway System
• Uncontrolled Terms: Accident costs; Property damage
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00221232
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Apr 25 1971 12:00AM