The Economic Impact of Road Accidents

You may not think that road accidents would have any type of impact upon the economy, but you would be wrong. The economy is basically the wealth of a country. Many things can affect that amount of wealth, or the lack of it. Car accidents decrease the wealth of the people involved, as well as the economy overall. Let us take a deeper look into how that is so.

Income

Let us be honest here. Money makes the world go around. And around it will go as long as people earn money, and of course spend money. The more money that we make, the more a country will gain wealth from taxes and products. When a working person gets into an accident a number of things will happen to them, which in turn circles around and affects the economy of the country.

The income from a job that would have normally been worked is gone for as long as the recovery process continues. This money that would have been taxed leaves the local and federal governments with decreased income amounts. Not to mention the money that will not be spent on goods and services, which also would have been taxed. You get the point. Now, multiply that by how many people were in the accident and expand that out into the web of the economy.

Medical

The biggest drain on you and the economy are the medical charges that will be racked up. And as we know all too well, the medical bills are outrageous. That is after your insurance picks up the costs of a chunk of the bills. And if you were the cause of the accident, you will be liable for any damages done to the other people involved.

Even if you have good insurance there is always a chance of a lawsuit being filed. If you are unsure about what steps to take you should get answers to questions about the car accident from a car accident attorney. Do not ever take the word of the other parties involved, or the insurance company representatives that get ahold of you. None of them are your friend.

Job

As discussed above, one accident can cause a number of people to be out of work. This one wreck also affects the companies for which they were working. One person out causes a decrease in the productivity of the entire business because one part of the chain is gone, and could be gone for some time if injured, or forever if the accident were fatal. If hiring a new person is needed the company will spend time, money, and will not pay the new employee as much. If they decide to simply replace you it will be a situation where you will have to start over again. This hurts you, as well as the company, because your replacement will have to be trained and will not be as efficient as you were.

Full Circle

Around and around and around goes the circle. The economy of a nation depends upon the citizens of that country. When one is taken out of the equation the effects spider web out, with each little strand being an aspect of the economy that is being affected.

What makes this circle worse is that when road accidents occur the people that will be most affected from it will be the low- and middle-class people. Their insurance may cover some of the bills, but the average American cannot afford to pay for the remaining charges.

This leads to non-payment or bankruptcy, or both. Either of these issues will cause a fallout of lost income for everyone involved. The circle never ends and will continue to go around through the end of time.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes