Millions of vehicular accidents occur every year in the United States, and a significant number of them cause injuries and death. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says motorists reported more than 5.25 million collisions in 2020, with an average of 14,386 every day. About 43% of those car collision incidents caused injuries to one or more passengers, with more than 2.82 million people injured. Those collisions also caused 38,824 deaths, with one in every 147 accidents -- 0.7% -- causing at least one fatality. Here's what you should know about the financial impact of automotive collisions.

High Cost of Car Collisions

A vehicular collision might only cause minor damage to the vehicles that are involved, or it might trigger very costly injuries, vehicle damage, and property damage. The NHTSA says vehicular accidents caused $340 billion in combined economic costs in 2019. This is equal to about 1.6% of the gross domestic product in the United States and $1,035 per person living in the nation.

This number includes direct costs, such as injuries, deaths, and property damage. It also includes indirect costs, such as lost productivity. These costs are attributed to 23 million vehicles damaged, 4.5 million nonfatal injuries, and 36,500 collision fatalities.

According to Safer America, private insurers pay for about half of all car collision costs, accident survivors about 26%, and other parties about 14%. These numbers only account for the direct costs. Public revenues generally pay for any remaining costs, which adds up to about $230 in additional taxes for every U.S. household.

Average Economic Cost of a Vehicular Collision

The National Safety Council (NSC) goes further in determining the average economic cost of vehicular accidents. The NSC breaks down the average cost per general type of injury suffered by each person in a collision. If no injuries occur, the costs are broken down per vehicle for damages.

Based on the type of injury, the average economic cost per injured person in a car collision is:

• Death = $1.75 million
• Disabling injury = $101,000
• Evident injury = $29,200
• Possible injury = $23,900
• No observed injury = $12,800
• Property damage per vehicle = $4,700

The cost of treating accident injuries is very high, as the NSC's numbers affirm. Vehicular costs are relatively inexpensive in comparison. The following gives you a more detailed look at the economic costs of accidents that cause injuries.

Fatality Costs

The cost per injury calculated by the NSC includes loss of earnings and other economic impacts. For example, someone who dies in a car collision will not continue earning income for whatever the remainder of that person's life would be. That is why the total economic cost per fatality averages $1.75 million.



The NHTSA says more than 90% of a fatality's economic cost is due to lost work productivity, lost household productivity, and legal costs. The work productivity component is easy enough to understand, but many people overlook the household productivity aspect. A person who has died is no longer available to perform the daily duties required for family and home life, which adds to the total economic cost.

Critical Injury Costs

According to the NHTSA, critical injuries cause an average of $979,000 in economic costs. Those costs include medical costs, which are often high due to the intense level of treatment required to try to save the victim's life. Surgeries, intensive care, and extended hospital stays greatly increase the cost of treating critical injuries.

A disabling injury also carries very high costs but does not necessarily stop the victim from obtaining income. If an injury does render the victim incapable of working, this will trigger economic costs. A person may also need to undergo vocational training to switch careers, which can increase costs further.

Someone who cannot continue working does not necessarily lack income. Insurance coverage might provide a significantly large settlement, and many life insurance policies will pay benefits when a policyholder suffers a disabling injury. Social Security and disability protection also might provide a measure of income that will help someone who has become disabled following a car accident to meet their financial needs.

Lost Productivity Costs

Negative effects on workflow are an indirect cost of car collisions that the NHTSA says accounts for about 22% of the nation's $340 billion in costs in 2019. Accidents caused about $75.5 billion in lost workplace productivity in 2019. That amount indicates a significant impact on the nation's gross domestic product.

Lost household productivity might be even more devastating due to its effect on households. The NHTSA says car collisions accounted for nearly $31 billion in lost household productivity in 2019. When someone can no longer run errands, clean, or perform other household tasks, that household either loses these benefits or has to pay someone to provide them. Odds are that household productivity will be lost or greatly reduced, which affects the standard of living.

Property Damage Costs

New vehicles contain more electronics and costly sensors that make driving safer and more fuel efficient. Those costly electronics and sensors also make repairing or replacing vehicles more expensive over time. According to the NHTSA, the total property damage costs of collisions totaled more than $115 billion in 2019.

This number represents about a third of all economic costs of vehicular accidents. A subset of those property damage costs are accidents that did not cause injuries or deaths. Accidents that only caused property damage accounted for more than $101 billion in economic costs in 2019, which is about 30% of the total cost of car collisions.

Cost of Police-Reported Accidents

Most accidents are reported to the police, but many are not. The unreported accidents cause a surprising amount of economic damage, which the NHTSA says is equal to more than $67 billion. The majority of unreported accidents do not involve passenger fatalities or injuries. Drivers might have many reasons to not report an accident that only caused property damage, including not wanting to file an insurance claim.

When fatalities or injuries occur, the police are almost always notified, as these accidents are serious and require immediate attention. Police-reported accidents cost a total of $270 billion and accounted for 80% of the nation's $340 billion tab in 2019.

Costs Due to Congestion

A seldom-considered cost of a collision is its effect on traffic. When a collision occurs on a public road, some or all of the road might be shut down while the accident is investigated and cleared. The amount of time it takes to clear the road might be several hours if people are injured and the vehicle or vehicles involved are blocking multiple traffic lanes.

The NHTSA reports that collision-caused congestion caused $36 billion in economic costs in 2019, which accounted for 10.6% of total costs. This number includes additional fuel usage and environmental effects, such as smog, CO2 emissions, and other environmental impacts.

Car accidents can be devastating for multiple reasons, including the economic impact they cause. If you recently experienced a car collision, it's important to invest in quality repairs to avoid incurring additional costs for your vehicle later on. City Side Auto Body is the team you can trust to take care of your car reliably and efficiently. Contact us today to learn more about our auto repair services or to request a free estimate.