Appendix E to Part 1240 - Determination of Federal Medical Savings
23:1.0.2.14.8.4.1.1.46 : Appendix E
Appendix E to Part 1240 - Determination of Federal Medical Savings
A. To determine the savings to the Federal Government from
reduced medical costs attributable to seat belt use, NHTSA will
first estimate the impact of seat belt use on the number of
fatalities and injuries, using methods described in the report
“Estimating the Benefits from Increased Safety Belt Use.” 1 These
methods establish a relationship between the effectiveness of seat
belts, current use rates, and existing injury levels to determine
the impact of increasing seat belt use on motor vehicle safety.
Using these methods, NHTSA will estimate the fatalities prevented
and the non-fatal injuries avoided by increased seat belt use.
1 Blincoe, L.J. Estimating the Benefits of Increased Safety
Belt Use. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation,
NHTSA, DOT HS 808 133, June, 1994.
B. In the 1996 report “The Economic Cost of Motor Vehicle
Crashes, 1994,” 2 NHTSA measured both the medical costs and payment
sources for motor vehicle crashes. NHTSA will adjust the national
medical cost figures from this report to individual State income
levels to reflect local cost levels. These per-case costs will be
further adjusted for inflation, using the most recent annual
average Consumer Price Index for medical care, and then multiplied
by the injuries and fatalities prevented in each State to derive
the total medical care savings from increased seat belt use. The
Federal portion of these costs will be derived from the best
available data found in the same cost report or in other sources,
as they may become available.
2 Blincoe, L.J. The Economic Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes,
1994. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, NHTSA,
DOT HS 808 425, July, 1996.