Abstract
Millions of dollars are spent on road safety programs in Australia each year. Up-to-date accident cost data is an essential ingredient in developing programs which produce maximum benefits. The aims of this report are to briefly outline the different approaches available for estimating accident costs; to describe the results of a survey of Australian organisations likely to be using accident cost data; to identify some of the key issues and to suggest a process for ensuring up-to-date data are available. There are two major problems inherent in the use of accident costs in Australia. These are the use of different methodologies and data sources, and problems associated with regularly updating estimated accident cost figures. (A)