The Center for Disease Control and Prevention took a look at a year’s worth of data on vehicular accidents and came up with some startling numbers, in terms of costs, that more than speak for themselves:
– Medical treatment and losses to productivity associated with auto accidents: $99 billion
– Cost of car and light truck crashes: $70 billion
– Cost of motorcycle crashes: $10 billion
– Cost of pedestrian involved accidents: $10 billion
– Cost of cyclist involved accidents: $5 billion
– Fatal motor vehicle-related injuries: $58 billion
– Non-fatal injuries requiring hospitalization: $28 billion
– Inuries treated in the ER and released: $14 billion
– Injuries and death among men: 74% of all accidents, cost $74 billion
– Injuries and death among teens and young adults: 28% of all crashes, cost $31 billion
And these numbers represent injury-related costs ONLY. They do NOT include vehicle or other property damage.
Is there any wonder auto insurance is expensive? If you took the total bill and parcled it out over every licensed driver in the United States, we’d all have to come up with $500 to cover the tab.
Among other preventive recommendations, the CDC mentioned:
– Graduated driver licensing.
– Improved child safety seats.
– Primary seat belt statutes.
– Improved seat belt enforcement.
– Mandated helmets for motorcylist and bikers.
Bottom line. Nothing is going to help you keep your insurance premiums lower than maintaining a clean driving record. The industry has to recoup its expenses somewhere and while we’re all going to take a hit with these kinds of bills, drivers who have higher risk will definitely pay more to get coverage.