Toronto, Ontario — If the entire population of Canada was required to cover the bill for a whole year’s worth of auto collisions, we would all be on the hook for about $946.65 for 2020’s results, according to Statistics Canada’s recent report on the social costs of collisions from that year.
Collisions suffered by the 26,971,220 licensed drivers currently on Canadian roads cost the national GDP nearly $36 billion in 2020 alone, according to Statistics Canada’s “2020 statistics on the social costs of collisions in Canada” report (SCOC).
Fatal collisions, which 2020 saw 1,745 of, account for the most costly type of auto collision, came in at a cost of $8,149,775.78 per case for that year. That accounts for about $14 billion of the hit to the GDP for 2020.
Setting aside costs associated with fatalities and medical expenses for injuries, damage to personal property for its part accounted for 11 percent of the SCOC for 2020.
Costs associated with traffic delays followed directly, making up about 3 percent of the SCOC for 2020.
By comparison, total SCOC findings for 2019 and 2018 indicated notably higher costs of $39 billion and $42 billion respectively, likely due to 2020’s irregularly low traffic rates that were spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
