Collision Cost Study
Motor vehicle collisions are costly – not just to the people involved, but society as a whole. Costs to individuals and families can be considerable, especially when there are major injuries or fatalities. With over 43,000 traffic collisions in the Capital Region every year, CRISP members identified the need to quantify those cost to encourage both the public and the policy makers to take action.

Collisions in the
Capital Region in
2018 resulted in:
Fatalities
Injuries
Property Damage Only

Identify, Analyze and Interpret Costs
The Collision Cost Study identifies, analyzes and interprets the costs associated with motor vehicle collisions to determine average and total costs of collisions involving fatalities, injuries and property damage in Devon, Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Morinville, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove, St. Albert and Stony Plain.
The resulting model allows road agencies to calculate both the direct costs associated with motor vehicle collisions, as well as other less tangible and indirect costs, to determine the cost benefit of engineering changes to reduce road trauma. This costing model is based on data that is generally available in other jurisdictions making the project transferable to other municipalities in Alberta and across Canada.
CRISP’s 2018 Cost of Collision Study
Over 43,000 traffic collisions in the Capital Region each year,
adds up to over $800 million in Direct Costs.
Fatal Collision
Cost = more than $225,000
for each collision
Injury Collision
Cost = more than $48,000
for each collision
PDO Collision Cost
Cost = more than $14,000
for each collision
Direct Costs
Direct costs include only the losses to the people involved in collisions as well as taxpayers, employers and insurance companies and include:
- Property Damage Costs
- Emergency Response Costs
- Health Services Costs
- Legal Costs
- Travel Delay Costs
- Productivity / Disruption Costs
Indirect Costs
Costs borne by people close to the person involved in a collision or by society as a whole. These costs are much harder to count yet it is these costs that we feel the most deeply as individuals and society.
Indirect costs include Human Capital Costs and Willingness-to Pay Costs.
Human Capital Costs
Long-term income that a person would have earned by a person who dies or is permanently disabled by a collision
Pain, suffering and grief are the costs ‘paid’ by those directly affected by fatal and injury collisions.
- Fatal Collision: $2,224,580
- Injury Collision: $89,408
- PDO: $0
Willingness-to-Pay
A measure of the value that people put on their one lives and on the lives of people close to them.
The amount of money a person is willing to pay to reduce the risk of injury or death for themselves or others.
- Fatal Collision: $6,707,228
- Injury Collision: $158,654
- PDO: $0