The economic cost of road traffic crashes in an urban setting

The objective of this article is to assess the total economic costs of road traffic crashes in Barcelona, a metropolitan city located in Southern Europe. A cost-of-illness study was conducted using a prevalence approximation, a societal and healthcare system perspective, and a 1-year time horizon. Results were measured in terms of Euros in 2003. Total costs of road traffic crashes in Barcelona in 2003 were euro367 million. Direct costs equalled euro329 million (89.8% of total costs), including property damage costs, insurance administration costs and hospital costs. Police, emergency costs and transportation costs had a minimum effect on total direct costs. Indirect costs were euro37 million, including lost productivity due to hospitalization and mortality. The results of the sensitivity analysis showed the upper limit of total economic cost of road traffic crashes in Barcelona to be euro782 million. This is the first study to estimate the costs of road traffic crashes for a city in a developed country. The importance of the problem calls for further interventions to reduce road traffic crashes.