Economic costs of traffic accidents in Jordan

The objectives of this study were to estimate the economic costs of traffic accidents in Jordan during the year of 1996 and to derive unit accident costs for various accident severity levels. The related data were acquired from different sources, including traffic police records, insurance companies, private hospitals and medical centers. In this study, a framework for applying unit casualty class costs, unit property damage cost, as well as police activities and insurance administration costs to accidents of various severity levels was suggested. The loss-of-output, the loss quality of life, the community and family losses, the temporary and permanent losses, and hospitalization and medical treatment costs were estimated in computing the unit cost for fatalities or injuries of different casualty classes. The vehicle repair cost, detention period cost, and public and private costs were accounted for in estimating the unit cost of property damages. The results indicate that the 1996 traffic accidents cost the country about JD 103 million ($US 146.3 million).