A developing country like the Philippines with majority of the population clinging on the poverty level is very much affected economically and socially by road accidents. Inevitably, the poor sector will eventually be pedestrians and public transport users, which from previous national and international studies were identified as the most accident-vulnerable road users. Social costs include the consequences of a family breadwinner’s loss in a large family group with meager savings and small insurance benefits. With more than half a million Filipinos involved in vehicular accidents each year, the statistics show accidents reaching epidemic proportions. The purpose of this study is to present the magnitude of these accidents in monetary values to have a clearer picture of their economic and social effects. The Human Capital Method has been used in this study as it considers the direct economic impacts of accidents with components like property damage, medical, administrative, human, and lost output costs represented through hospital surveys, vehicle manufacturer surveys, and public utility vehicle surveys. It has been found out that a total of PhP 3.5 Million is lost per fatal accident, which includes lost outputs of casualties amounting to PhP 2.5 Million and a significant sum for pain grief and suffering at PhP 506,450. It is hoped that through this thesis, decision-makers recognize the high economic and social costs of traffic accidents and thus put a greater emphasis on improving road safety, particularly in the allocation of resources in the formulation and implementation of an effective road safety program. The results of the thesis may also be used to improve the evaluation process for transportation projects.
