february2023 - 4

EDITOR'S NOTE
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Car crashes cost each
American $1,035 per year
The cost escalated to $340 billion in 2019,
according to a new NHTSA study.
BRENDAN BAKER
EDITOR
bbaker@
endeavorb2b.com
T
hese costs are calculated
for every American and
totaled out to $1,035 per
person, whether involved in an
accident or not.
Seeing the numbers involved,
it's no wonder that body shops are
so busy these days. There were
more than 23 million vehicles damaged
during this study's timeframe.
The report also states that 36,500
people were killed and 4.5 million
injured, as as a result. All signs that
there's still a long way to go for road
and vehicle safety.
Somewhat surprisingly, those
not directly involved in crashes pay
for about three-quarters of all crash
costs through higher insurance
premiums, taxes, and other hardto-calculate
factors such as travel
delays, increased fuel consumption,
and environmental impacts. These
costs totaled over $261 billion.
Some say the current body
shop business model is broken
due to how much influence (or control)
the insurance companies have
over the entire process, from what
a shop can charge for a headlight
to replacement body panels. While
the growing number of fatalities is
worrisome, technology can make
cars safer and more dangerous at
the same time.
Distracted driving is the biggest
cause of accidents but not the
most fatalities. Impaired driving
(alcohol) is still the most deadly
with a higher chance of a fatality.
Technology can also be to blame
for the higher costs to repair with
more driver assistance features
(e.g., ADAS), and overall increased
use of computer modules (i.e.,
chips) in vehicles. This means
that a mild fender bender can cost
several times more today because
shops must replace multiple
sensors (e.g., parking, lane assist,
etc.), and other related systems.
Of the vehicles damaged in
motor vehicle crashes in 2019,
some 19.3 million or 84 percent
were damaged in incidents that
incurred property damage only.
This report indicates that the
total cost from traffic crashes in
2019 was approximately 40 percent
higher than in 2010. The
difference in these estimates is
attributable to a number of factors,
including inflation, which
accounts for an overall rise in the
cost of goods and services of about
17 percent, shifts in the severity of
crashes and the nature of injury
outcomes, and a revised basis for
measuring unit costs.
With OEMs introducing more
and more safety systems such as
ADAS and other crash avoidance
systems, the methods and tools to
repair modern vehicles are significantly
more complex than even a
decade ago, yet we are still trying
to get people to wear seatbelts on a
regular basis in 2023. Go figure.
4 Professional Distributor I February 2023 I VehicleServicePros.com
Printed in the U.S. Volume 31, Number 1; February 2023
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT - TRANSPORTATION
Kylie Hirko 630-253-4034 Kylie@VehicleServicePros.com
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EDITOR Brendan Baker
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february2023

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