In the transport sector of the UK economy, the currently used breakdown of costs per casualty is based on a 1996 valuation of the benefits of the prevention of road accidents and casualties. The largest component of cost is in all cases that ascribed to "pain, grief and suffering." Valuation of this component has, for many years, been achieved by use of contingent valuation. In 1997 the Consumer Affairs and Competition Policy Directorate of the UK Department of Trade and Industry commissioned research on injury valuation in the context of the management of risks in relation to consumer product safety. The outcome of this research was to suggest an alternative strategy for decision making which was later accepted. At about the same time, several UK government departments, led by the UK Health & Safety Executive, commissioned a further ambitious study of the valuation of safety in different contexts, some of the results of which have now been reported. This paper provides a brief account and commentary on these developments.
Abstract