This paper reviews the development and use of the monetary valuation of road safety in the United Kingdom. The most important component of the benefit of improving road safety is the prevention of casualties. The valuation of the prevention of casualties is based on the 'willingness to pay' approach, which was adopted for the prevention of fatalities in 1988 and for injuries in 1992. The major applications of monetary valuations of road safety are first in the general appraisal of new or improved roads, and secondly in the appraisal of specific road safety measures. Road casualty valuations are also sometimes used as benchmarks in other contexts, such as other transport modes and in industrial safety. Accident savings are an important but minority component of the benefits of new or improved roads; however, specific road accident remedial measures bring exceptionally high rates of return, typically paying for themselves in accident savings in less than a year.
Abstract