An evaluation of medical crash costs: A CODES Application

Abstract

Current methods of identifying high crash locations attempt to quantify the impact of highway crashes. Dollar values are placed on intangibles to allow for commensurate analysis. The total costs are then used to determine highway segments or intersections in need of improvement. Though this approach is ingrained in practice damage, injuries, and fatalities for a given location are prone to errors. Combining crash and medical records creates an avenue to evaluate the current medical estimates used nationally as well as in Iowa. Using these new estimates the impact on using erroneous estimates on identification of high crash locations can be examined. This analysis uses the Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) to evaluate the medical crash costs associated with motor vehicle injuries occurring in Iowa. Estimates from the Federal Highway Administration and the Iowa Department of Transportation were significantly different than the results obtained from the Iowa CODES data set. Fortunately, the identification process currently used in the Iowa Department of Transportation does not rely solely on the crash costs to determine the high crash locations. This results in only minor changes to the identification of unsafe roadways. This research sets the foundation for determining the appropriate societal crash costs resulting from various safety improvements related to injuries and fatalities.