DETERMINATION OF ECONOMIC LOSSES DUE TO ROAD CRASHES IN THAILAND

Abstract

This study intends to analyze the road crash costs in Thailand. Furthermore, this study also attempts to determine the economic losses of two well-known holidays in Thailand, the New Year Festival and the Songkran Holidays. It was known that the total economic losses due to road crashes in Thailand are estimated to be 140,000 million Baht (about US$3,500 million) or 2.56 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2002. This corresponds to the present value of lifetime costs of 13,290 fatalities, 952,348 non-fatal injuries, and 736,000 property damage only crashes. Each fatality resulted on an average discounted lifetime cost of 3.05 million Baht, while average cost per serious injury as well as slight injury were 0.20 and 0.03 million Baht, respectively. Additionally, the total economic losses on New Year Holidays 2004 and Songkran Holidays 2003 were estimated to be 7,487 and 5,959 million Baht, respectively.