Prioritising road safety initiatives: fatality versus social cost.

In an effort to reduce road trauma, traffic authorities in Australia and New Zealand have implemented a series of countermeasures aimed primarily at reducing road fatalities. Although the social cost associated with fatal crashes is significant, it nevertheless constitutes a relatively small portion of the total social cost of road crashes. Since the relative influences of the contributing factors to fatal crashes may not be the same as those for less severe crashes, an overemphasis on fatal crashes may not result in an optimal allocation of scarce road safety resources.