Analysis of Accident Cost in Thailand by Willingness-To-Pay Method

It is well known that the accident costs need to be estimated to understand the existing problem and to perceive a major economic impact of road accident. In many developing countries including Thailand, the road accident cost has been traditionally evaluated by the Human Capital Method. This approach, however, has a shortcoming of underestimation by the fact that it focuses only on the economic effects of the loss of life and does not account for the value of enjoyment of life forgone. In this study, another alternative method which is the Willingness-To-Pay method (WTP) was selected to evaluate the accident cost.  WTP method or the value of risk change is used to estimate the value that individuals would pay for reducing the risk of loss of life.  The Contingent Valuation (CV) method is adopted in this study to determine the WTP.  In this paper, the cost due to motorcycle accident was focused because the motorcycle crash is the biggest portion among all type of vehicle crashes in Thailand.  The questionnaire survey was designed to determine the amount of money that each motorcycle user would pay to reduce the risk of loss of life from motorcycle accident. In this study, a total of 1,015 motorcycle users in Bangkok and surrounding areas were interviewed.  The results show that the Value of Statistical Life (VOSL) and the Value of Statistical Injury (VOSI) are in the range of 5.5 to 7 million baht and 2.6-3.4 million baht, respectively.  The age, gender, occupation, income, and behavior of helmet use are significant factors affecting the willingness to pay of motorcycle users to reduce the fatality risk.  The age, gender, income, household income, frequency of using motorcycle, accident experience, and the behavior of alcohol-impaired riding are significant factors affecting the willingness to pay of motorcycle riders to reduce the severe injury risk.

Aim of Research:

The aim of this research is to apply Willingness-To-Pay approach for the evaluation of accident costs in case of motorcycle users. According to the statement of problem discussed in the previous sections, the specific objectives of this study are as follows:

• To use Willingness-To-Pay approach to determine the accident cost
• To determine the impact of demographic and behavioral factors such as age,    gender and attitude towards risk on the value of life