A national questionnaire survey of car drivers investigating their recent experience of road accidents has been carried out. The Report describes an analysis of the data obtained relating specifically to the cost of repairing vehicle damage following an accident. These results are based on information about 3810 of 5381 reported accidents. The Report also examines the relative incidence of damage-only and injury accidents, and the levels of reporting of accidents to the police and of making claims from insurance companies. The results suggest that the figures for vehicle damage at present used by the Department of Transport in the economic assessment of road accidents are somewhat low. The Department's current review of the major components of accident costs will take these new estimates into account, together with data from a number of other sources.
Abstract