Government safety regulators say the economic and societal harm from motor vehicle crashes amounted to $871 billion in a single year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a study Thursday of crashes in 2010 that included the calculation of the economic toll from crashes that year. There were 32,999 people killed, 3.9 million injured and 24 million vehicles damaged in 2010.
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Of the total price tag, $277 billion was attributed to economic costs—nearly $900 for each person living in the U.S. that year. Harm from loss of life, pain and decreased quality of life due to injuries was pegged at $594 billion.
The safety agency produces such calculations about once a decade.
—By The Associated Press