Analysis of 

Benefits and Costs 

of 

Forward Collision Warning Systems 

for the Trucking Industry 

February 2009

FOREWORD 

The goal of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is to reduce the number 

and severity of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes. Over the last several years, FMCSA 

has collaborated with the trucking industry to test, evaluate, and encourage the deployment of 

effective onboard safety systems for CMVs to enhance the safety of all roadway users. 

The purpose of this document is to provide economic benefits, expected costs, and industry 

returns on investment for forward collision warning systems described herein. Verification of the 

costs and benefits of safety systems is critical for facilitating voluntary acceptance of these 

systems within the motor carrier industry. To ensure deployment, systems must be cost-effective 

investments that meet user needs. Confidence in onboard safety systems’ ability to reduce 

commercial-motor-vehicle-involved fatalities and injuries is a necessary precondition for 

acceptance and adoption of these systems. 

The benefit-cost analysis presented in this document covers financial metrics, such as return on 

investment and payback periods, for the end-users of the onboard safety systems—commercial 

motor carriers. This document intends to augment, rather than supersede, previous analyses that 

have been focused on onboard safety systems. 

The development of this analysis required the solicitation and collection of data sets from 

multiple industry resources. This information collection is covered by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) and Paperwork Reduction Act exemption for ITS-related surveys, 

questionnaires, and interviews defined in Section 5305, Title V, Subtitle C, paragraph (i) (2) 

of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 

(SAFETEA-LU) of 2005, which states, “Any survey, questionnaire, or interview that the 

Secretary considers necessary to carry out the evaluation of any test or program assessment 

activity under this subchapter shall not be subject to chapter 35 of title 44.” 

NOTICE 

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the United States Department of 

Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes 

no liability for its contents or use thereof. 

This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. 

The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or 

manufacturers’ names appear herein only because they are considered essential to the objective 

of this document. 

Technical Report Documentation Page 

1. Report No. 

FMCSA-RRT-09-021 

2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. 

5. Report Date 

February 2009 

4. Title and Subtitle 

Analysis of Benefits and Costs of Forward Collision Warning Systems for 

the Trucking Industry 6. Performing Organization Code 

7. Author(s) 

Dan Murray (ATRI), Sandra Shackelford (ATRI), Amy Houser 

(FMCSA) 

8. Performing Organization Report No. 

9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) 

American Transportation Research Institute 

950 North Glebe Road 

Arlington, VA 22203 

11. Contract or Grant No. 

DMTC75-04-F-00104 

13. Type of Report and Period Covered 

Final Report 

September 2004–December 2007 

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 

Department of Transportation 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 

Office of Analysis, Research and Technology 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

14. Sponsoring Agency Code 

15. Supplementary Notes 

This program was administered through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). 

The FMCSA Program Manager was Ms. Amy Houser. 

16. Abstract 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) safety goal is to reduce the number and severity of 

commercial motor vehicle fatalities and crashes. During the last several years, FMCSA has collaborated with the 

trucking industry to test, evaluate, and facilitate the deployment of several onboard safety systems for commercial 

motor vehicles to increase the safety of all roadway users. 

The purpose of this report is to evaluate costs and benefits for industry associated with Forward Collision Warning 

Systems that can reduce large truck rear-end crashes. 

The analysis described herein indicates that Forward Collision Warning Systems on combination and single-unit 

vehicles will help to prevent rear-end crashes. Motor carriers purchasing this technology will likely see net positive 

returns on investments within a five-year product lifecycle for the crash types and operating scenarios described in 

this report. 

17. Key Word 

Collision Warning Systems, Forward Collision Warning 

Systems, Adaptive Cruise Control, Benefit-Cost 

Analysis, Return on Investment, Payback Periods, 

Motor Carriers, Crashes, Rear-end Crashes, CMV, 

Commercial Motor Vehicle. 

18. Distribution Statement 

19. Security Classif. (of this report) 

Unclassified 

20. Security Classif. (of this page) 

Unclassified 

21. No. of Pages 

67 

22. Price 

N/A 

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized. 
SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS 

APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM 

Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol Symbol When You Know Multiply By 

LENGTH LENGTH 

in inches 25.4 millimeters mm mm millimeters 0.039 inft feet 0.305 meters m m meters 3.28 feyd yards 0.914 meters m m meters 1.09 yami miles 1.61 kilometers km km kilometers 0.621 m

AREA AREA 

in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2 mm2 square millimeters 0.0016 sqft2 square feet 0.093 square meters m2 m2 square meters 10.764 sqyd2 square yards 0.836 square meters m2 m2 square meters 1.195 sqac acres 0.405 hectares ha ha hectares 2.47 acmi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2 km2 square kilometers 0.386 sq

VOLUME VOLUME 

fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters ml ml milliliters 0.034 flugal gallons 3.785 liters l l liters 0.264 gaft3 cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m3 m3 cubic meters 35.71 cuyd3 cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m3 m3 cubic meters 1.307 cu

MASS MASS 

oz ounces 28.35 grams g g grams 0.035 oulb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg kg kilograms 2.202 poT short tons (2000 lbs) 0.907 megagrams Mg Mg megagrams 1.103 sh

TEMPERATURE (exact) TEMPERATURE (exact

°F Fahrenheit 5(F-32)/9 Celsius °C °C Celsius 1.8 C + 32 F

temperature or (F-32)/1.8 temperature temperature te

ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION 

fc foot-candles 10.76 lux lx lx lux 0.0929 fofl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2 cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 fo

FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS FORCE and PRESSURE or ST

lbf pound-force 4.45 newtons N N newtons 0.225 ppsi pound-force per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa kPa kilopascals 0.145 p

p

*SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with section 4 of ASTM E380. 
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

ACRONYMS...............................................................................................................................IV

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..........................................................................................................V

1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................1

1.1 TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTIONS...............................................................................1 

1.2 VOLVO FIELD OPERATIONAL TEST......................................................................2 

1.3 BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS ASSUMPTIONS..........................................................2 

2. BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS STEPS ................................................................................4

2.1 BENEFITS IN TERMS OF CRASH AVOIDANCE....................................................4 

2.2 TECHNOLOGY AND DEPLOYMENT COSTS.........................................................5 

2.3 BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS CALCULATIONS .......................................................5 

3. BENEFITS CALCULATIONS............................................................................................6

3.1 STEP 1: ESTIMATE CRASHES PREVENTABLE BY THE FCWS..........................6 

3.2 

........................................................................................7 

STEP 2: ESTIMATE THE CRASH COSTS FOR THE CRASHES 

PREVENTABLE BY FCWS

3.3 

...........................................14 

STEP 3: ESTIMATE CRASH COSTS BASED ON VEHICLE MILES 

TRAVELED AND EXPECTED CRASH REDUCTION

4. COST CALCULATIONS ..................................................................................................16

4.1 STEP 4: ESTIMATE THE TECHNOLOGY AND DEPLOYMENT COSTS...........16 

5. BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS CALCULATIONS ..........................................................18

5.1 STEP 5: CALCULATE NET PRESENT VALUES OF BENEFITS AND COSTS...18 

5.2 STEP 6: SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS..........................................................................22 

6. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS...................................................................................28

7. REFERENCES....................................................................................................................29

i 
 

LIST OF APPENDICES 

APPENDIX A: DESCRIPTION OF DATA SETS ..................................................................31

APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW GUIDE – MOTOR CARRIER AND VENDOR 

DATA ON FCWS EFFICACY AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT ...........................33

APPENDIX C: SUPPORTING DATA .....................................................................................39

APPENDIX D: COST DATA – MOTOR CARRIER QUESTIONNAIRE AND 

RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS ................................................................................41

APPENDIX E: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................53

LIST OF TABLES 

Table 1. Mean Annual Number of Large-Truck Rear-End Crashes by Crash Severity, 

2001–2005........................................................................................................................6 

Table 2. Estimated Mean Annual Number of Crashes Preventable by FCWS 

by Crash Severity, 2001–2005 .........................................................................................7 

Table 3. Median Driver Replacement Cost Elements per Fatal or Injury Crash .............................9 

Table 4. Average Annual Numbers of Truck Driver Injuries and Fatalities per 

Rear-End Crash, 2001–2005 ..........................................................................................10 

Table 5. Average Labor and Workers’ Compensation Cost Elements per Rear-End Injury 

or Fatal Crash .................................................................................................................10 

Table 6. Median Operational Costs per Rear-End Crash...............................................................11 

Table 7. Median Property Damage Costs per Rear-end Crash ......................................................12 

Table 8. Average Legal Fees and Court Costs per Rear-End Crash..............................................12 

Table 9. Average Annual Numbers of Injuries and Fatalities per Rear-End Crash, 

2001–2005......................................................................................................................13 

Table 10. Average Settlement Costs per Injury and Fatal Rear-End Crash...................................13 

Table 11. Cost Estimates per Rear-End Crash, by Crash Severity ................................................13 

Table 12. Average Annual Crash Costs per Crash Avoided for an Average Annual VMT 

at 21% Efficacy ..............................................................................................................15 

Table 13. Average Annual Crash Costs per Crash Avoided for an Average Annual VMT 

at 44% Efficacy ..............................................................................................................15 

Table 14. Cost of Technology, if Financed....................................................................................16 

Table 15. Federal Tax Savings due to Depreciation......................................................................17 

Table 16. Total Costs of Technology Deployment with and without Financing...........................17 

Table 17. Net Present Value of the Benefits of FCWS/FCWS with ACC at 21% Efficacy .........18 

Table 18. Net Present Value of the Benefits of FCWS/FCWS with ACC at 44% Efficacy .........18 

ii 
 

iii 

Table 19. Net Present Value of the Costs of FCWS/FCWS with ACC, 3% and 

7% Discount Rates.........................................................................................................19 

Table 20. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing Technology, 

3% Discount Rate without Financing.............................................................................19 

Table 21. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing Technology, 

7% Discount Rate without Financing.............................................................................19 

Table 22. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing Technology, 

3% Discount Rate with Financing..................................................................................20 

Table 23. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing Technology, 

7% Discount Rate with Financing..................................................................................20 

Table 24. Payback Period for Technologies in Months.................................................................21 

Table 25. Motor Carrier Perceptions of Crash Cost Importance ...................................................22 

Table 26. Cost Estimates per Rear-End Crash by Crash Severity with Insurance 

Deductible of $50,000 ....................................................................................................23 

Table 27. Cost Estimates per Rear-End Crash by Crash Severity with Insurance 

Deductible of $5,000 ......................................................................................................23 

Table 28. FCWS: Average Annual Crash Costs per Crash Avoided for an 

Average Annual VMT of 100,000 VMT at 21% Efficacy.............................................24 

Table 29. FCWS: Average Annual Crash Costs per Crash Avoided for an 

Average Annual VMT of 100,000 VMT at 44% Efficacy.............................................24 

Table 30. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing FCWS/FCWS-ACC 

per Crash Avoided for an Average Annual VMT of 100,000 VMT, 

3% Discount Rate with Financing..................................................................................24 

Table 31. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing FCWS/FCWS-ACC 

per Crash Avoided for an Average Annual VMT of 100,000 VMT, 

7% Discount Rate with Financing..................................................................................25 

Table 32. Cost Estimates per Rear-End Crash by Crash Severity with High-Value Cargo 

Damages of $50,000.......................................................................................................26 

Table 33. Cost Estimates per Rear-End Crash by Crash Severity with High-Value Cargo 

Damages of $1,000,000..................................................................................................26 

Table 34. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing FCWS per Crash Avoided for 

an Average Annual VMT of 100,000 VMT, 3% Discount Rate with Financing...........27 

Table 35. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing FCWS per Crash Avoided for 

an Average Annual VMT of 100,000 VMT, 7% Discount Rate with Financing...........27 

Table 36. GES Fields and Variables Defining Crashes Addressed by CWS.................................32 

Table 37. Average Annual VMT (millions of miles) for Combination Vehicles, 2001–2005......32 

Table 38. Annual Number of PDO, Injury, and Fatal Rear-End Crashes with Pre-Crash 

Movement around a Curve, 2001–2005.........................................................................39 

Table 39. Annual Number of Injuries and Fatalities for Rear-End Crashes, 2001–2005..............39 

Table 40. Truck Driver Injuries and Fatalities in Rear-End Crashes, 2001–2005.........................39 
ACRONYMS 

ABS Anti-Lock Braking System 

ACC Adaptive Cruise Control 

ATRI American Transportation Research Institute 

BCA Benefit–Cost Analysis 

BLS U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Labor Statistics 

CMV Commercial Motor Vehicle 

FARS Fatality Analysis Reporting System/Fatal Accident Reporting System 

FCWS Forward Collision Warning System 

FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 

FOT Field Operational Test 

GES General Estimates System 

HAZMAT Hazardous Materials 

IVI Intelligent Vehicle Initiative 

MARCS Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System 

NASS National Sampling Automotive System 

NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer 

OMB U.S. Office of Management and Budget 

OSS Onboard Safety System 

PAR Police Traffic Accident Report 

PDO Property Damage Only 

USDOT United States Department of Transportation 

VMT Vehicle Miles Traveled 

WC Workers’ Compensation 

iv 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

INTRODUCTION 

The primary safety goal of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is to 

reduce the number and severity of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes. Over the last 

several years, FMCSA has collaborated with the trucking industry to test, evaluate, and 

encourage the deployment of several onboard safety systems (OSS) for CMVs in an effort to 

enhance the safety of all roadway users. 

As part of an ongoing FMCSA effort to encourage voluntary adoption of onboard safety systems, 

this analysis builds on previous field operational testing by refocusing benefit-cost assessments 

from societal impacts to targeted motor carrier industry outcomes, since motor carriers are the 

end-users who are responsible for investment and deployment of onboard safety systems. The 

purpose of this benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is to provide return on investment information to the 

motor carrier industry in support of future purchasing decisions of Forward Collision Warning 

Systems (FCWS). According to the motor carrier industry, verifying associated costs and 

benefits of safety systems is critical for deployment, since these systems must prove to be 

beneficial, cost-effective investments that meet the users’ needs. 

This document presents the BCA for FCWS from a motor carrier perspective. However, other 

industry stakeholders, such as insurance companies, vendors, and risk managers, can equally 

well apply the calculations to their own internal assessments and programs. 

TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION 

FCWS provide audible and/or visual warnings of vehicles or objects that come within a 

predefined interval in front of the vehicle equipped with FCWS. To account for closing distance, 

the distance that triggers a warning varies based on settings cross-factored with the speed at 

which the driver is traveling. Systems currently on the market rely on Doppler-based radar that 

transmits and receives signals to determine distance, difference in relative speed, and azimuth 

between the large truck and the vehicle or object in front of it. When a large truck equipped with 

the FCWS approaches a slower-moving vehicle or stationary object, progressively more urgent 

warnings are issued from the system according to pre-set thresholds. These warnings are 

designed to improve driver behavior through targeted feedback about safe following distances. 

FCWS may also be integrated with an adaptive cruise control (ACC) system, which 

automatically maintains a set following interval between the large truck and a vehicle in front of 

it. ACC systems interact with the truck’s engine management system (transmission and throttle) 

and cruise control system to control the speed of the vehicle. As a result, FCWS with ACC have 

the potential to prevent rear-end collisions in which the truck is striking another vehicle; 

however, they do not automatically decelerate or stop the truck. 

v 
BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS 

For this BCA, the potential benefit, in terms of crash cost avoidance, was measured against the 

purchase, installation, and operational costs of these collision warning systems in motor carrier 

operations. The primary data source for benefits was information provided by insurance 

companies and motor carriers on actual expenses incurred due to a CMV crash. As a result, this 

assessment incorporates actual motor-carrier-based benefit-cost data. 

The methodology for this analysis was based on estimates of crash cost avoidance for the 

primary type of crash that can be addressed by FWCS on straight trucks and combination 

vehicles. FCWS benefits were primarily based on reducing the occurrence of large-truck rearend collisions in which the truck is striking another vehicle. To obtain a measure of crash cost 

avoidance, the number of crashes that the technology is estimated to prevent each year per 

vehicle miles traveled (VMT) was determined. Next, using information provided by motor 

carriers, insurance companies, legal experts, and others, the actual crash costs paid by the motor 

carrier industry were determined for large-truck rear-end collisions (i.e., trucks rear-ending other 

vehicles). As a result, trucking companies can use this cost information as a basis for evaluating 

the potential crash avoidance benefits of FCWS with the purchase and operational costs of this 

technology. 

The motor carrier crash costs that may be fully avoided, or whose severity may be decreased, by 

the use of FCWS include: 

• Labor Costs 

– Training 

– Testing 

– Hiring and orientation 

– Recruitment 

• Workers’ Compensation Costs 

• Operational Costs 

– Cargo damage due to crash 

– Cargo delivery delays 

– Loading and unloading cargo 

– Towing, inventory, and storage 

• Property Damage and Auto Liability Costs 

• Environmental Costs 

– Fines 

– Clean-up costs 

• Legal Costs 

– Court costs 

– Legal fees 

– Out-of-pocket settlements 

vi 
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 

In order to apply the costs specifically to motor carriers, this analysis was based on the 

assumption that these crash costs would be incurred by motor carriers with deductibles equal to 

or greater than total crash costs, or by self-insured motor carriers. However, other industry 

stakeholders such as insurance companies, vendors, and risk managers can equally well apply the 

calculations to their own internal assessments and programs. The following findings and 

conclusions were derived from the benefit-cost analysis. 

Using efficacy rates of 21 percent and 44 percent derived from a field test and industry input (see 

Section 3.1.2), it was estimated that between 8,597 and 18,013 rear-end crashes could be 

prevented through use of the FCWS. Based on the average estimates of the crash cost elements 

listed in the previous section, a property damage only (PDO) rear-end crash would cost 

$122,650, an injury rear-end crash would cost $239,063, and a fatal rear-end crash would cost 

$1,056,221. These avoided costs or benefits of the FCWS were based on a typical or median-cost 

incident; therefore, they should be interpreted as approximations of typical expected values. 

Crash avoidance costs based on VMT and expected crash reduction resulting from deployment 

of FCWS were calculated for annual VMT values of 80,000, 100,000, 120,000, 140,000, and 

160,000 miles. However, the research relied heavily on documented annual average VMTs of 

100,000 to 110,000 for class 6–8 trucks used in a variety of operational environments. 

The technology and deployment cost estimates for the FCWS included the technology purchase, 

maintenance costs, and cost of training drivers in the use of the technology. Purchasing the 

technology with or without financing was also considered in these costs, as well as Federal tax 

savings due to depreciation of the FCWS equipment. These total costs ranged from 

approximately $1,415 to $1,843. 

The net present values of the FCWS were computed by discounting future benefits and costs for 

the values using discount rates of 3 and 7 percent. Discounting benefits and costs transforms 

gains and losses occurring in different time periods to a common unit of measurement. These 

values were calculated over the first five years of deployment, since estimates of product 

lifecycles are speculative beyond five years. When the anticipated present value costs and 

benefits of the FCWS were compared, the benefits of using the system over a period of five years 

outweighed the costs associated with purchasing the systems at each efficacy rate and for each 

VMT category. For every dollar spent, carriers get more than a dollar back in benefits that could 

be quantified for this analysis, ranging from $1.33 to $7.22 based on different VMTs, system 

efficacies, and technology purchase prices. 

Payback periods were also calculated to estimate the length of time required to recover the initial 

investments made for the FCWS. These payback periods ranged from eight to 37 months, 

depending on the different VMTs, system efficacy estimates, and technology purchase costs. 

Since certain industry segments will experience different costs and benefits because of 

differences in operating practices, a sensitivity analysis was performed to show some of these 

differences for small carriers and high-value cargo carriers. 

vii 
viii 

It was important to consider small carriers separately from large carriers, due to discrete 

differences in their financial and operating environments. For instance, small carriers are 

unlikely to be self-insured; therefore, out-of-pocket costs per crash will initially be much lower 

for small carriers. Since the median deductible for a motor carrier will fall in the $5,000–$50,000 

range, these low and high deductibles were considered as part of the benefit and cost analysis. 

Based on the overall probability of involvement in a rear-end crash, small carriers that have 

lower deductibles, such as $5,000 per truck, may not achieve a break-even point— a dollar or 

more of benefits for each dollar spent on financing the technology—in the first five years. 

However, as the number of crashes and/or their severity increases, insurance premium costs will 

increase until the carrier’s insurance costs equal or exceed the investment costs of the FCWS, or 

the carrier is dropped altogether by the insurance provider. For this reason, an investment in the 

technology may still be considered judicious for added protection against rising insurance costs. 

In addition, indirect costs of crashes, such as impacts on safety ratings, public image, and 

employee morale, can add to the benefits of purchasing onboard safety systems. 
1. INTRODUCTION 

The safety goal of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is to reduce the 

number and severity of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes. Over the last several years, 

FMCSA has collaborated with the trucking industry to test, evaluate, and encourage the 

deployment of onboard safety systems (OSS) for CMVs in an effort to enhance the safety of all 

roadway users. 

FMCSA is now promoting voluntary adoption of these systems within trucking fleets by 

initiating steps to work closely with the trucking industry. Forward Collision Warning Systems 

(FCWS) are a type of commercially available onboard safety technology designed to prevent 

rear-end crashes. 

In 2006, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) completed an independent evaluation 

of the Volvo Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) Field Operational Test (FOT) (Battelle 2007). 

The report included a societal benefit-cost analysis over a 20-year period of deployment for an 

FCWS designed to prevent rear-end crashes, both individually and as part of a bundled system 

which included adaptive cruise control (ACC) and advanced electronic braking systems. While 

succeeding in identifying the societal costs that could be linked to CMV crashes, the study did 

not focus on the direct costs incurred by commercial motor carriers. 

As part of an ongoing FMCSA effort to encourage voluntary adoption of FCWS, this benefitcost analysis (BCA) builds on the previous FOT by changing the focus of the benefit-cost 

analysis from societal costs to the costs incurred by the motor carrier industry—the end-users 

who are responsible for investment and deployment of the technology. The purpose of this 

BCA is to provide cost and return on investment information to the motor carrier industry in 

support of future decisions to purchase FCWS. The motor carrier industry has confirmed that 

verifying associated costs and benefits of safety systems is critical for spurring deployment, since 

these systems must prove to be beneficial, cost-effective investments that meet the users’ needs. 

1.1 TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTIONS 

FCWS provide audible and/or visual warnings of vehicles or objects that come within a predefined 

interval in front of the vehicle equipped with the FCWS. To account for closing distance, the 

distance that triggers a warning varies according to the speed at which the driver is traveling. 

Systems currently on the market rely on Doppler-based radar that transmits and receives signals to 

determine the distance, difference in relative speed, and azimuth between the large truck and the 

vehicle or object in front of it. When a large truck equipped with FCWS approaches a slowermoving vehicle or stationary object, a series of progressively more urgent warnings are issued from 

the system, according to pre-set thresholds. These warnings are designed to improve driver 

behavior through targeted feedback to drivers about safe following distances. 

FCWS may also be integrated with ACC, which automatically maintains a set following interval 

between the large truck and a vehicle in front of it. ACC systems interact with the truck’s engine 

management system (transmission and throttle) and cruise control system to manage the speed of 

the vehicle. As a result, FCWS with ACC has the potential to prevent rear-end collisions in 

1 
which the truck strikes another vehicle; however, they do not automatically stop the truck. 

Furthermore, ACC systems are designed to engage only at a set speed threshold, typically greater 

than 35 mph. Next-generation systems now in development will use direct braking as an 

extended benefit of FCWS. 

1.2 VOLVO FIELD OPERATIONAL TEST 

The 2007 Volvo FOT evaluation showed that the FCWS with ACC reduced the risk of a rear-end 

collision by approximately 21 percent and helped drivers maintain longer following distances 

between their vehicle and a vehicle in front. As a result, FCWS were shown to be effective in 

situations in which a rear-end crash could result, since FCWS provide advance information that 

the driver could use to avoid a potential hazard. 

The Volvo FOT report included a societal benefit-cost analysis over a 20-year deployment 

period of a FCWS preventing rear-end crashes. Societal costs include many factors, such as the 

lost productivity of commuters caught in traffic congestion resulting from truck crashes, or costs 

of emergency response personnel responding to crashes. However, avoiding these societal costs 

does not immediately translate into bottom-line cost savings for motor carriers purchasing 

onboard safety systems. 

As a result, FCWS efficacy results from the Volvo FOT were used in this report, but to 

determine the specific costs and benefits of the FCWS in order to aid motor carriers in making 

purchasing decisions, further data collection and analysis were necessary, beyond those of 

previously conducted studies. 

1.3 BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS ASSUMPTIONS 

Large-truck crashes often involve a complex series of critical events and factors, many of which 

can be mitigated through the use of OSS. However, crash reduction also depends on motor 

carrier factors which may not be directly addressed by OSS, such as operational characteristics, 

back-room safety initiatives, motor carrier safety “culture,” and driver selection, training, and 

management practices (Short et al. 2007). As a result of varying degrees of success in addressing 

these motor carrier factors, the levels of crash reduction and cost savings realized from the 

implementation of FCWS may deviate from the projected values in this analysis. 

The trucking industry is a broad collection of many industries, each of which has operating 

characteristics as diverse as the customers they serve. Segmentation of the trucking industry is 

often based on the size of fleets, vehicle configurations, geographic range of operations, and 

commodities hauled. Usually one characteristic is not sufficient to describe a particular 

segment, and a combination of characteristics is necessary to account for the variety of 

operations. In an effort to address the tremendous diversity found in the trucking industry, realworld information and data for this study were provided by carriers and suppliers operating in 

a wide range of industry segments, yet these data may not be representative of the unique 

characteristics of every motor carrier. Some specific areas of diversity among carriers—such as 

vehicle miles traveled (VMT), fleet size, and high-value cargo hauling—were given special 

2 
3 

attention in order to take account of factors that may have a disproportionately large impact on 

the costs associated with crashes. 

Lastly, the commercial vehicle population is comprised of a wide variety of vehicle types and 

uses. At a general level, two types of vehicles are predominant, combination vehicles (tractortrailers) and straight trucks. These two types of vehicles have very different operating 

characteristics. In general, straight trucks tend to be used in a localized setting, providing pick-up 

and delivery services to customers within a 50–100-mile radius of their base of operations. 

Combination vehicles are more often used in regional and long-distance applications, accounting 

for approximately 30 percent of all commercial vehicles and 65 percent of commercial vehicle 

miles traveled. Because of higher mileage traveled and consequent greater exposure to the risk of 

crashes, and because of the greater severity of crashes when they do occur, combination trucks 

have the highest crash cost per vehicle over the average operational life of the vehicle (Wang et 

al. 1999). 

Since rear-end crashes can occur along any route, many fleet types may benefit from using 

FCWS. These systems can be installed on any truck configuration, including combination or 

single-unit vehicles. Yet they may be most promising for trucks with high mileage accumulated 

over their operational lives, which travel primarily at highway speeds. 
2. BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS STEPS 

This section outlines the steps used in estimating costs and benefits of FCWS for motor carriers 

that are considering investing in OSS technologies. Appendix A provides details on all data sets 

used in the BCA. The total benefits of deploying FCWS include the direct savings due to crashes 

prevented and indirect benefits from overall improvement in fleet safety. The costs of deploying 

FCWS include initial capital investment required for technology purchase, as well as training and 

maintenance costs. 

2.1 BENEFITS IN TERMS OF CRASH AVOIDANCE 

Step 1: Estimate Crashes Preventable by FCWS 

Crash data in the General Estimates System (GES) were used to estimate the number of rear-end 

crashes in which the large truck was the striking vehicle that could be reduced over a five-year 

period, 2001–2005, by using FCWS on large trucks. These data were used to estimate the costs 

for rear-end crashes involving property damage only (PDO), injuries, and fatalities. Then, using 

information from motor carriers, suppliers, and the FOT, efficacy rates were calculated and used 

to estimate the portion of these crash types that could be prevented by FCWS. 

Step 2: Estimate the Crash Costs for the Crashes Preventable by FCWS 

Crash costs were derived from a combination of resources including motor carriers, insurance 

companies, legal firms, a review of large-truck statistics, and expert opinion. In general, these 

costs related to the following six major areas: 

• Labor costs, including recruitment, training, testing, hiring, and orientation 

• Workers’ compensation costs 

• Operational costs, including post-crash costs, cargo damage, towing, inventory, and 

storage costs 

• Property damage costs 

• Environmental costs 

• Legal costs, including settlement costs for injuries and fatalities 

Next, the total crash costs were determined for the rear-end collisions preventable by FCWS. 

These costs were summed to determine per-crash cost estimates for crashes of varying degrees of 

severity—PDO, injury, or fatality—preventable by FCWS. 

Step 3: Estimate Crash Costs Based on Vehicle Miles Traveled and Expected Crash 

Reduction 

While the analysis in Step 1 provides information on the number of truck crashes preventable by 

FCWS, and Step 2 provides estimates of the costs of those crashes, motor carriers need to know 

the cost-reduction value of the avoided crashes that they can expect through the use of FCWS. 

As a result, this step involves estimating crash avoidance costs based on VMT, and the expected 

crash reductions resulting from deployment of FCWS. To address variance in the average vehicle 

4 
5 

miles traveled by carriers in different operating conditions, the crash costs were calculated for 

annual VMT values of 80,000, 100,000, 120,000, 140,000, and 160,000 miles. However, the 

research relied heavily on documented annual average VMTs of 100,000 to 110,000 for class 6–

8 trucks used in a variety of operational environments. 

2.2 TECHNOLOGY AND DEPLOYMENT COSTS 

Step 4: Estimate the Technology and Deployment Costs 

The technology and deployment cost estimates for the FCWS included the technology 

purchasing price, maintenance costs, and cost of training drivers in the use of the technology. 

Purchasing the technology with or without financing was also considered in these costs, as well 

as Federal tax savings due to depreciation of the FCWS equipment. 

As shown in the Vendor and Motor Carrier Interview Guide (Appendix B), vendors and motor 

carriers were asked to provide supporting data related to technology costs and return on 

investment information. 

2.3 BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS CALCULATIONS 

Step 5: Calculate Net Present Value of Benefits and Costs and Estimate Payback Periods 

The net present value of the FCWS was computed by discounting future benefits and costs for 

the values in Steps 3 and 4 using discount rates of 3 and 7 percent. Discounting benefits and 

costs transforms gains and losses occurring in different time periods to a common unit of 

measurement. These values were calculated over the first five years of deployment, since 

estimates of product lifecycles are extremely speculative beyond five years. Payback periods 

were also calculated to estimate the length of time required to recover the initial investments 

made in purchasing the FCWS. 

Step 6: Sensitivity Analysis 

Certain industry segments will experience different costs and benefits due to differences in 

operating practices. The costs and benefits for these industry segments will fall outside the 

normal scope of carrier operations used for the crash cost estimates in Step 5. Additional 

analyses were conducted for small carriers, as well as for carriers hauling high-value cargo. 
3. BENEFITS CALCULATIONS 

This section presents the first three steps in the BCA used to determine the benefits of avoiding 

crashes preventable through the use of FCWS. 

3.1 STEP 1: ESTIMATE CRASHES PREVENTABLE BY THE FCWS 

The first step in this benefit-cost analysis involved estimating the number of annual crashes that 

are potentially preventable using FCWS. This estimation was based on crash data, Volvo FOT 

results, and motor carrier information. 

3.1.1 Crash Data 

Crash data in the GES were used to estimate the number of rear-end crashes in which the truck is 

the striking vehicle that could be reduced over a five-year period, 2001–2005, if FCWS were 

installed on large trucks (NHTSA 1988–2005). These data were used as the basis for estimating 

costs for rear-end collisions involving PDO, injuries, and/or fatalities. 

Table 1 provides the crash data for the different rear-end-crash degrees of severity addressed by 

the FCWS.∗

 GES Accident, Vehicle, Event, and Person files were used to determine the total 

number of crashes included in the analysis for a five-year period. Annual crash data are 

presented in Appendix C. Since GES is a probability-based nationally representative sample of 

all police-reported fatal, injury, and property-damage-only crashes, data from GES yield national 

estimates, calculated using a weighting procedure. Within GES, the estimated number of crashes 

for the type described in a record is given by the “Weight” variable. The GES Vehicle and 

Person files were used to count the number of rear-end crashes for large trucks resulting in fatal, 

injury, or PDO crashes. Next, the weighted-numbers crashes in each category were summed and 

divided by 5 (five years) to provide a mean annual number of crashes by crash severity. 

Table 1. Mean Annual Number of Large-Truck Rear-End Crashes 

by Crash Severity, 2001–2005 

PDO Crashes Injury Crashes Fatal Crashes Total 

27,681 13,022 235 40,938 

3.1.2 Efficacy of FCWS 

While the crashes presented in Table 1 represent the average numbers of crashes potentially 

preventable by FCWS, the technology will not generally prevent all of these crashes. For 

example, FCWS will not prevent crashes that are initiated by major vehicle mechanical failures, 

such as faulty brakes, steering loss, or tire blowouts, which may have been included in this data 

set. If another vehicle suddenly cut in front of a truck so that the driver did not have time to react 

 

∗

 Approximately half of these crashes involved combination vehicles (19,884 combination vehicles out of a tot al of 40,938 combination vehicles 

and straight trucks). 

6 
to the warning of the FCWS, the crash would not likely be prevented. Finally, these systems 

would have limited effectiveness in rear-end crashes that occur when the truck drivers are 

incapacitated, seriously ill, or unconscious. 

Efficacy rates or crash prevention rates represent the percentage of crashes that FCWS would 

have a high probability of preventing. Using information from the Volvo FOT and motor carrier 

feedback, a range of efficacy rates was determined and used to estimate the percentage of these 

types of crashes that could be prevented by FCWS. The range of efficacy rates estimated by 

different industry sources varied from 21 percent (Volvo FOT estimate) to 44 percent (40 out of 

91 rear-end crashes). For the high efficacy rate, motor carriers provided the average number of 

rear-end events that occurred annually and estimated the number of rear-end events that were 

preventable by the FCWS. The efficacy rates were calculated by dividing the number of crashes 

preventable by the technology by the sum of the number of crashes experienced and the number 

of crashes avoided. Multiplying the number of crashes in Table 1 by these efficacy rates resulted 

in the estimated number of crashes preventable by FCWS, as shown in Table 2. 

Table 2. Estimated Mean Annual Number of Crashes Preventable by FCWS 

by Crash Severity, 2001–2005 

Efficacy Rate 

PDO Rear-End 

Collisions 

Injury Rear-End 

Collisions 

Fatal Rear-End 

Collisions Total 

21% Efficacy 5,813 2,735 49 8,597 

44% Efficacy 12,180 5,730 103 18,013 

3.2 STEP 2: ESTIMATE THE CRASH COSTS FOR THE CRASHES 

PREVENTABLE BY FCWS 

The second step in this benefit-cost analysis involved estimating the cost of crashes that are 

likely to be prevented by FCWS. 

3.2.1 Cost Data Collection Process 

To develop a comprehensive estimate of rear-end crash costs, the American Transportation 

Research Institute (ATRI) collected cost estimates from trucking industry insurers and 

representative motor carrier constituents. As shown in the Carrier Interview Guide 

(Appendix D), carriers and insurers were asked to estimate their costs with respect to the 

following data collection cost categories, including: 

• Labor costs related to replacement of drivers due to temporary and permanent driver 

injury, and additional labor costs incurred post-crash 

• Workers’ Compensation costs 

• Operational costs related to cargo damage towing, inventory, and storage 

• Environmental costs 

• Property damage costs 

• Legal costs, including injury and fatality settlement costs 

7 
Baseline data were also received from respondents on the quantity and severity of crashes 

categorized by type which had occurred during the last year, as well as the number of drivers 

who had been injured and/or replaced during that period. In addition, the Interview Guide 

included questions on costs by type of vehicle, cargo, and insurance, such as deductible levels or 

whether the carrier is self-insured and at what levels. 

The Interview Guide design was guided by previous studies and their relevant findings— 

specifically, average worker replacement costs from the “The Costs of Truckload Driver 

Turnover” (Rodriguez et al. 2000). All of the costs obtained from these interviews were assumed 

to be in 2007-year dollars. 

As shown in Appendix D, a broad range of motor carrier fleet sizes, operational models, and 

characteristics were represented. In addition to motor carriers, four insurance companies, two 

environmental clean-up firms, four industry attorneys, and five technology vendors were 

interviewed in support of the crash cost data collection. 

After the initial interview results were synthesized, follow-up interviews with additional motor 

carriers, insurance company representatives, and legal firms were used to validate responses and 

address any gaps in the data. The motor carriers were asked about the cost factors related to areas 

in the data collection cost categories with respect to rear-end crashes, although several cost 

categories associated with these specific crashes do not vary by crash type. 

After the ranges were identified for the six data collection cost categories, median costs were 

determined. While there was little deviation between mean and median cost calculations, 

occasional outliers were evident in certain categories. For instance, rare jury decisions have 

resulted in single-fatality settlements exceeding $10 million, but these are extremely infrequent 

occurrences. Since these outlying responses were not representative of the sample as a whole and 

would have negatively influenced the calculation of a “typical” crash cost, median values were 

used instead. The interview respondents were also asked how the potential crash costs presented 

might be impacted by the severity of the crash—for example, whether the crash involved PDO, 

injuries, or fatalities. 

3.2.2 Labor Costs 

In this analysis, labor cost estimates were assumed to be specific to the replacement of the truck 

drivers injured or killed in crashes. Since medical insurance is a basic operating cost that covers 

a broad array of on-the-job and off-the-job illnesses and injuries, and generally covers all 

personnel working for a motor carrier, these costs were not allocated as marginal costs of 

crashes. However, if a driver must be replaced because of a fatal or injury crash, a motor carrier 

would incur added labor costs. 

Driver replacement costs estimates related to the training, testing, hiring, and orientation 

activities when a new driver is brought into the organization. Training costs included any 

ancillary tuition, instructor costs, and team-driver costs. Testing costs included a driver 

background check, drug screening tests, and physicals (medical exams). Hiring costs included 

any bonuses and relocation costs provided to new hires. When provided by carriers, orientation 

costs included items such as meals and lodging expenses. Table 3 presents a breakout of these 

8 
median costs per each new driver hired—costs provided by the interviewed carriers and 

insurance companies. 

Table 3. Median Driver Replacement Cost Elements 

per Fatal or Injury Crash 

Cost Category Cost 

Training $3,350 

Testing $500 

Hiring $500 

Orientation $2,650 

Total $7,000 

3.2.3 Workers’ Compensation 

Workers’ Compensation is designed to protect workers and their dependents against the 

hardships associated with injuries or death arising out of the work environment. These 

employees or their survivors are provided with fixed monetary awards covered under Workers’ 

Compensation, thus eliminating the need for excessive litigation. 

Employers with a certain number of employees are legally required to furnish Workers’ 

Compensation coverage. Rather than purchase insurance, some employers choose to self-insure 

their Workers’ Compensation liabilities for reasons of cost-effectiveness, maintaining greater 

control over their claims programs, and increasing safety and loss control management. To 

receive self-insured status, the employer must qualify through an application process, meet 

specified financial requirements, and be approved. 

These specific costs were included in the benefit-cost analysis only when the crash resulted in a 

driver injury or fatality. Workers’ Compensation laws provide the following benefits to an 

employee: 

Medical Expense—covers the cost for hospitals, doctors, medical treatment, etc. 

Disability Pay—pays temporarily while the employee is getting back to normal, or 

permanently if the employee is unable to return to work. The amount varies, but can be as 

high as one-half to two-thirds of normal pay. 

Vocational Rehabilitation—covers cases in which the injury renders the employee unable 

to perform the usual duties of his or her occupation; includes re-training to enter into a 

new trade or business and physical therapy. 

The median Workers’ Compensation claims of $62,728 for motor vehicle crashes were 

determined from insurance company data. According to insurance companies, approximately 10 

percent of the Workers’ Compensation costs can be borne by motor carriers if they are not selfinsured, and the remainder is covered by insurance, as required. In order to isolate those costs 

that are specific to a motor carrier, the research assumption used in this analysis is that the motor 

carrier is self-insured or maintains a per-crash deductible that exceeds total crash costs. 

9 
However, insurers can use the same figures and outputs to understand OSS benefits and impacts 

from an insurer’s perspective. 

These labor and Workers’ Compensation costs apply only when the truck driver involved in an 

accident is the party that is injured or killed. To accurately account for the actual labor costs 

associated with truck crashes as well as the cost savings that can be expected from the use of 

FCWS, labor costs were multiplied by the average number of injuries and fatalities that were 

incurred by truck drivers on a per-crash basis. As shown in Table 4, on average, 10 percent of 

truck drivers are injured in rear-end crashes that involve an injury, and 40 percent of truck 

drivers are killed in rear-end crashes that involve a fatality. 

Table 4. Average Annual Numbers of Truck Driver Injuries and Fatalities 

per Rear-End Crash, 2001–2005 

Rear-End 

Crash Type 

Number of 

Crashes 

Number of 

Injuries in 

Crashes 

Number of 

Injuries per 

Crash 

Number of 

Fatalities in 

Crashes 

Number of 

Fatalities per 

Crash 

Injury Crashes 13,022 1,542 0.1 N/A N/A 

Fatal Crashes 235 0 0 88 0.4 

Using these rates, the actual labor costs associated with injuries and fatalities per crash were 

calculated as shown in Table 5. 

Table 5. Average Labor and Workers’ Compensation Cost Elements 

per Rear-End Injury or Fatal Crash 

Cost Category Injury Crash Fatality Crash 

Driver Replacement $700 $2,800 

Workers’ Compensation $6,273 $25,091 

Total $6,973 $27,891 

3.2.4 Operational Costs 

Operational costs considered in this analysis included cargo damage, delivery delays, and 

loading and unloading, as well as towing, inventory, storage, and other miscellaneous costs. 

Table 6 presents information on categories of typical median operational costs which the 

interviewed carriers provided about what they typically pay in the event of a rear-end crash. 

Cargo damage costs, which can include extreme ranges relating to cargo value, included direct 

median damage claims that occurred as a result of the crash. Cargo delivery delay costs included 

any penalties or reimbursements that the carrier pays as a result of late delivery. Cargo loading 

and unloading costs were direct expenses to the company for moving the cargo from the crash 

scene. Towing costs included costs for both the tractor and trailer being towed from the crash 

site. In addition, there were the inventory and cargo storage costs. Miscellaneous costs included a 

summation of smaller crash-related costs, such as the additional expenses associated with calling 

the customer after the crash, and with any crash-associated public relations costs. Additional 

motor carrier operational costs that could be associated with crashes, such as costs for emergency 

10 
supplies (cones, flares, etc.), were described by the interviewed carriers as typical “costs of doing 

business”; therefore, they were not included in this analysis. 

Median operational costs per crash are shown in Table 6. Overall operational costs were 

estimated to be approximately $11,150 for rear-end crashes, but these total costs could vary 

substantially, depending primarily on the value of damaged cargo. 

Table 6. Median Operational Costs per Rear-End Crash 

Cost Category Cost 

Cargo damage $2,500 

Cargo delivery delays $750 

Loading and unloading cargo $2,500 

Towing, inventory, and storage $5,000 

Miscellaneous $400 

Total $11,150 

Additional operational costs considered for inclusion in this analysis were citations and penalties 

resulting from crashes. Rear-end crashes may involve fines for such citations as driving too fast 

for conditions. A collection of information from state and local authorities from 10 states and 

seven cities indicated that the average penalty for these types of fines is approximately $140. 

Since violation citations are not cited in all crashes and the fines are a relatively small expense, 

they were not included as a cost in the analysis. 

3.2.5 Environmental Costs 

According to environmental remediation companies, environmental clean-up costs tended to 

vary, depending on whether or not a body of water was impacted and required clean-up. Based 

on average invoices, the costs for clean-up of impacted water ranged from $500 to over $100,000 

per crash, depending on the type of waterway involved. If a body of water was not impacted, the 

clean-up costs ranged from $300 to over $20,000 per crash. The variability in both ranges—

water impacted and no water impacted—depended on what type of substance was leaked or 

spilled, and the amount involved. 

When estimated by the carriers, out-of-pocket costs for environmental clean-up depended on the 

crash type but represented actual costs to the carrier. For a rear-end crash, the interviewed 

carriers estimated a median cost of $10,000 per crash, including fees paid to an environmental 

clean-up company. 

In addition to these costs, a carrier may be required to pay fines for any environmental damage. 

The costs of these fines also vary based on the severity of the crash and on whether or not water 

was impacted. Carriers reported that the average environmental fine for a crash in which no water 

is impacted is $4,000; the average environmental fine for a crash in which water is impacted is 

$7,500. For this analysis, the conservative figure of $4,000 is being used as the environmental fine 

per crash. The total environmental clean-up cost used in this analysis is $14,000. 

11 
3.2.6 Property Damage Costs 

Median costs for property damage in crashes as provided by the interviewed insurers and carriers 

for rear-end crashes are presented in Table 7. Infrastructure and surrounding structural damage 

refer to the damage from the crash to structures other than the truck, such as any damage to the 

environment in which the crash took place and damages to other vehicles. However, in this 

research, PDO refers specifically to the vehicular damage to the truck. 

Table 7. Median Property Damage Costs per Rear-end Crash 

Cost Category Cost 

PDO to truck $25,000 

Damages caused to structures other than the truck $2,500 

Total $27,500 

3.2.7 Legal Costs 

According to information collected from insurer and carrier interviews and separately verified by 

three transportation attorneys interviewed as part of this analysis, legal costs relating to court 

costs, attorney fees, and out-of-pocket settlements typically vary considerably, depending on 

negligence, and on the type and severity of the crash. 

The legal fees cost category included crash reconstruction costs, expert witness fees, and fees 

paid to attorneys. The court costs include legal filing fees, court reporter fees, deposition fees, 

and other miscellaneous costs relating to filing or completing litigation. These average costs are 

shown in Table 8 for each type of rear-end crash 

Table 8. Average Legal Fees and Court Costs per Rear-End Crash 

Cost Category PDO Injury Fatal 

Legal Fees $20,000 $40,000 $150,000 

Court Costs $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 

Total $70,000 $90,000 $200,000 

The out-of-pocket settlement costs are expenses paid to claimants, including punitive and 

compensatory damages. The median settlement cost per fatality is $700,000. The average 

settlement cost per injury was calculated by a weighted average of the percentage of the 

incapacitating injuries multiplied by the highest settlement cost of $500,000 for injuries in a 

range of settlement costs for rear-end crashes, added to the percentage of non-incapacitating 

injuries multiplied by the lowest settlement cost of $10,000 for injuries in a range of settlement 

costs for injuries. According to the GES data, approximately 12 percent of the rear-end crashes 

estimated to be preventable by FCWS resulted in incapacitating injuries, while 88 percent 

resulted in non-incapacitating injuries. As a result, the weighted average cost of an injury in a 

rear-end crash preventable by FCWS is $68,800. 

For this analysis, the costs per injury or fatality depended on the average number of injuries and 

fatalities in crashes preventable by the FCWS. GES data provided the numbers of injuries and 

12 
fatalities in the crashes preventable by the FCWS, which were used to calculate the average 

number of injuries in injury crashes and the average number of injuries and fatalities in a fatal 

crash. Table 9 presents these results. A detailed summary of the numbers of injuries and fatalities 

per year in rear-end crashes is provided in Appendix C. 

Table 9. Average Annual Numbers of Injuries and Fatalities 

per Rear-End Crash, 2001–2005 

Rear-End 

Crash Type 

Number of 

Crashes 

Number of 

Injuries in 

Crashes 

Number of 

Injuries per 

Crash 

Number of 

Fatalities in 

Crashes 

Number of 

Fatalities per 

Crash 

Injury Crashes 13,022 16,676 1.3 N/A N/A 

Fatal Crashes 235 267 1.1 241 1 

Table 10 shows the median cost per injury crash and per fatality crash involving a rear-end crash 

preventable by the FCWS. These results were obtained by multiplying the annual average 

numbers of fatalities and/or injuries per crash type in Table 9 by the settlement costs of, 

respectively, $700,000 for one fatality and $68,800 for one injury. 

Table 10. Average Settlement Costs per Injury and Fatal Rear-End Crash 

Cost Category Injury Fatal 

Out-of-Pocket Costs per Injury $89,440 $75,680 

Out-of-Pocket per Fatality $700,000 

Total $89,440 $775,680 

3.2.8 Summary of Total PDO Crash, Injury Crash, and Fatal Crash Costs for 

Rear-End Crashes 

Based on the median cost estimates from the previous subsections, Table 11 summarizes the 

major crash costs for rear-end collisions which could have been avoided through the use of 

FCWS. These costs are based on a typical or average incident; therefore, they should be 

interpreted as approximations of typical expected values.

Table 11. Cost Estimates per Rear-End Crash, by Crash Severity 

Cost Category PDO Injury Fatality 

Labor and Workers’ Compensation N/A $6,973 $27,891 

Operational $11,150 $11,150 $11,150 

Environmental $14,000 $14,000 $14,000 

Property Damage $27,500 $27,500 $27,500 

Legal Settlement $89,440 $775,680 

Court Costs and Other Legal Fees $70,000 $90,000 $200,000 

Total $122,650 $239,063 $1,056,221 

13 
This analysis is based on the assumption that these crash costs would be incurred by motor 

carriers which have deductibles at the total crash cost level or are self-insured. By Code of 

Federal Regulations (49 CFR 387) requirements, all motor carriers must, at minimum, either 

insure their equipment for crash liability and cargo damage or demonstrate the financial capacity 

to cover liability and cargo damage costs for all of their trucks (USDOT 2001). FMCSA will 

consider and approve, subject to appropriate and reasonable conditions, the application of a 

motor carrier to qualify as a self-insurer, if the carrier furnishes a true and accurate statement of 

its financial condition and other evidence that establishes to the satisfaction of the FMCSA the 

motor carrier’s ability to satisfy its obligation for coverage of bodily injury liability, property 

damage liability, or cargo liability. In the case of a crash, it is likely that a self-insured carrier 

would assume all of the costs summarized in Table 11. 

For a carrier that is insured through an insurance company, the carrier would pay its deductible, 

and the insurance company would then cover most of these costs up to the policy limit. The 

median deductible provided by the insurance industry representatives for a liability and cargo 

damage insurance policy for medium-sized to large fleets was $50,000. Within the trucking 

industry, larger carriers typically have larger insurance deductibles. As a result, many large 

carriers choose to become self-insured at high values ranging from $150,000 to $5 million. 

Generally, smaller carriers have lower deductibles, typically lower than the estimated median 

value of $50,000. In addition, new carriers often have a deductible of less than $10,000 and pay 

higher insurance premiums, because the insurance companies do not have the standard three to 

five years’ worth of historic safety and operating information to determine experience ratings 

and appropriate premium rates. 

Due to the high cost of truck crashes, major truck insurance providers and various truck fleets 

indicated that premiums are a significant business expense that most fleets would like to reduce. 

Yet, it should be noted that it is difficult to attribute a standardized premium increase directly to 

a single crash, since insurance calculations are based on sophisticated insurance metrics such as 

“experience rating” and “loss-pick” formulas, which consider multiple factors including safety 

history, crash severity, convictions, carrier size, and safety culture. Some interviewed carriers 

stated that they have experienced approximately 8 to 15 percent increase in premiums 

annually—independent of crash history. 

3.3 STEP 3: ESTIMATE CRASH COSTS BASED ON VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED 

AND EXPECTED CRASH REDUCTION 

While Step 1 provides information on the numbers of truck crashes preventable by FCWS, and 

Step 2 provides estimates of the costs of those crashes, motor carriers ultimately need to know 

the crash cost savings they can expect through use of FCWS. As a result, Step 3 involves 

estimating crash avoidance costs based on vehicle miles traveled and expected crash reduction 

from deploying FCWS. 

The average annual truck VMT can vary dramatically depending on the motor carrier’s 

operations. As the average VMT per truck increases, the likelihood of a truck being involved in a 

crash will increase as well, due to increased exposure. To address the variances in the average 

14 
15 

VMTs traveled by carriers in different operating conditions, the crash costs were calculated for 

annual VMT values of 80,000, 100,000, 120,000, 140,000, and 160,000 miles. 

To determine the costs of crashes preventable by FCWS for the various annual VMT values 

shown in Table 12 and Table 13, the first step involved dividing the estimated mean annual 

number of crashes preventable by FCWS from Table 2 by the mean annual total number of VMT 

for combination and single-unit trucks in the United States, averaged across years 2001–2005 

(Federal Highway Administration 2001–2005) of 217,488 million miles. The resulting values 

were multiplied by annual VMT values of 80,000, 100,000, 120,000, 140,000, and 160,000 

miles. The total values in Table 12 and Table 13 provide an estimate of the expected value of 

crash costs that can be avoided through the use of FCWS at different efficacy rates and VMTs. 

The resulting expected total costs are the sum of the probability of each possible outcome of the 

crashes preventable by FCWS multiplied by its estimated cost. Each total cost value represents 

the average annual amount one “expects” for the cost of each crash per vehicle at a different 

average VMT, with identical odds repeated many times for each VMT category.

Table 12. Average Annual Crash Costs per Crash Avoided 

for an Average Annual VMT at 21% Efficacy 

Average VMT PDO Injury Fatal Total Cost* 

80,000 $262 $241 $19 $522 

100,000 $328 $301 $24 $652 

120,000 $393 $361 $29 $783 

140,000 $459 $421 $33 $913 

160,000 $525 $481 $38 $1,044 

*Total Cost may not be equal to the summation of numbers shown for PDO, 

Injury, and Fatal, due to independent rounding. 

Table 13. Average Annual Crash Costs per Crash Avoided 

for an Average Annual VMT at 44% Efficacy 

Average VMT PDO Injury Fatal Total Cost* 

80,000 $550 $504 $40 $1,093 

100,000 $687 $630 $50 $1,367 

120,000 $824 $756 $60 $1,640 

140,000 $962 $882 $70 $1,913 

160,000 $1,099 $1,008 $80 $2,187 

*Total Cost may not be equal to the summation of numbers shown for PDO, 

Injury, and Fatal, due to independent rounding. 
4. COST CALCULATIONS 

This section presents the Step 4 methodology and findings for the benefit-cost analysis, and 

focuses on determining the costs of purchasing and deploying FCWS. The technology and 

deployment cost estimates for FCWS included the technology purchasing price, maintenance 

costs, and cost of training drivers in the use of the technology. Purchases of the technology with 

and without financing were both considered in these costs. 

4.1 STEP 4: ESTIMATE THE TECHNOLOGY AND DEPLOYMENT COSTS 

In the United States, Eaton VORAD is a leading market vendor of forward collision warning 

systems for large trucks. A typical original equipment manufacturer (OEM) list price for FCWS 

is approximately $2,000, with an additional price of $300 for adaptive cruise control (ACC). 

The costs are based on the assumption that the motor carrier has the capital available to pay the 

upfront cost of the technology. If a motor carrier finances the purchase of the technology, the 

costs will increase as shown in Table 14. These calculations are based on an average interest rate 

of 6.38 percent as determined from motor carrier and banking industry interviews, and generally 

reflect a loan period of three years. 

Table 14. Cost of Technology, if Financed 

Technology Book Price Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total* 

FCWS $2,000 $734.27 $734.27 $734.27 $2,202.80

FCWS-ACC $2,300 $844.41 $844.41 $844.41 $2,533.22

*Total Cost may not be equal to the summation of numbers shown, due to independent rounding. 

It is noteworthy that motor carriers experience Federal tax savings due to depreciation of the 

FCWS equipment. To determine the tax savings, a tax rate of 35 percent was used (the 

approximate tax rate for the highest brackets for both C Corporations∗

∗

 A C C orporation is any major corporation that is taxed under Subchapter C of the I nternal Revenue C ode. The income of a C Corporation is 

subject to Federal income tax. 

and S Corporations†). 

 An S Corporation is any corporation that is taxed under Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code. An S Corporation pays no Federal income 

taxes on profits, but instead each shareholder pays an income tax on his or her particular profits. 

FCWS installed by the OEM are considered part of the truck cab. Consequently, the technology 

is subject to the Federal excise tax; a depreciable life of three years was used to determine the tax 

savings, as shown in Table 15 (Internal Revenue Service 2007). The Modified Accelerated Cost 

Recovery System (MACRS) is the current method of accelerated asset depreciation required by 

the United States income tax code. Each MACRS class has a predetermined schedule, which 

determines the percentage of the asset’s cost depreciated each year. The General Depreciation 

Class for a three-year recovery period was used to determine the depreciation of the FCWS. The 

cost of the system was multiplied by the MACRS rate for each year to determine the 

depreciation. Then, this value was multiplied by the tax rate of 35 percent to determine the 

Federal tax savings. 

 

†

16 
17 

Table 15. Federal Tax Savings due to Depreciation 

Technology Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 

FCWS -$233.31 -$311.15 -$103.67 -$51.87 $0 

FCWS-ACC -$268.31 -$357.82 -$119.22 -$59.65 $0 

Direct driver training was assumed to be the cost for a one-time training session (per driver) of 

one hour at a carrier cost of $23—an estimate of the average wage for a driver plus fringe 

benefits. It was assumed that the training will be provided annually, because of the high driver 

turnover rate in the trucking industry. Interviews with motor carriers have confirmed that one 

hour is the amount of time typically spent on training a driver. The costs of trainers, manuals, 

and other training materials were excluded, since they are part of a carrier’s typical training 

budget, or may be provided by the system supplier. 

Motor carriers reported in interviews that maintenance of FCWS was minimal and that any 

maintenance was considered a normal operating expense. As a result, maintenance costs were 

considered negligible. As shown in Table 16, the total costs of the technology with the added 

training costs, less the Federal tax savings, are provided for both the financed and non-financed 

purchase options. 

Table 16. Total Costs of Technology Deployment with and without Financing 

Technology Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total* 

FCWS $1,789.69 -$288.15 -$80.67 -$28.87 $23.00 $1,415.00

FCWS-ACC $523.96 $446.12 $653.60 -$28.87 $23.00 $1,617.80

FCWS (financed) $2,054.69 -$334.82 -$96.22 -$36.65 $23.00 $1,610.00

FCWS-ACC (financed) $599.10 $509.58 $748.19 -$36.65 $23.00 $1,843.22

*Total may not be equal to the summation of numbers shown for each year, due to independent rounding. 
5. BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS CALCULATIONS 

This section presents an overview of the benefit-cost analysis calculations. Specifically, the 

benefits in terms of crash cost avoidance were compared to the costs in terms of total technology 

costs. 

5.1 STEP 5: CALCULATE NET PRESENT VALUES OF BENEFITS AND COSTS 

The net present values of the FCWS and FCWS-ACC systems were computed by discounting 

future benefits and costs for the values in Steps 3 and 4, using discount rates of 3 and 7 percent 

over a five-year period (Office of Management and Budget 1992). Discounting benefits and costs 

transforms gains and losses occurring in different time periods to a common unit of 

measurement. Economic conditions and externalities dictate which rate is most appropriate for 

calculating benefits. The higher the discount rate, the lower is the present value of future cash 

flows. For typical investments, with costs concentrated in early periods and benefits following in 

later periods, raising the discount rate tends to reduce the net present value. The discounted 

benefits of the FCWS are shown in Table 17 and Table 18 at the low and high efficacy rates. The 

discounted costs of the FCWS and FCWS with ACC are shown in Table 19. 

Table 17. Net Present Value of the Benefits 

of FCWS/FCWS with ACC at 21% Efficacy 

Average Annual 

VMT 

3% Discount 

Rate 

7% Discount 

Rate 

80,000 $2,389.68 $2,139.47 

100,000 $2,987.10 $2,674.34 

120,000 $3,584.51 $3,209.20 

140,000 $4,181.93 $3,744.07 

160,000 $4,779.35 $4,278.94 

Table 18. Net Present Value of the Benefits 

of FCWS/FCWS with ACC at 44% Efficacy 

Average Annual 

VMT 

3% Discount 

Rate 

7% Discount 

Rate 

80,000 $5,007.42 $4,483.13 

100,000 $6,259.28 $5,603.91 

120,000 $7,511.13 $6,724.69 

140,000 $8,762.99 $7,845.47 

160,000 $10,014.84 $8,966.26 

18 
Table 19. Net Present Value of the Costs 

of FCWS/FCWS with ACC, 3% and 7% Discount Rates 

Technology 

No 

Financing 

3% 

No 

Financing 

7% 

Financing 

3% 

Financing 

7% 

FCWS $1,386.32 $1,349.45 $1,521.52 $1,407.24 

FCWS-ACC $1,578.47 $1,537.72 $1,733.95 $1,604.18 

When the anticipated costs and benefits of FCWS are compared, the benefits of using the system 

over a period of five years outweigh the costs associated with purchasing the systems at each 

efficacy rate and for the VMT categories used, starting at 80,000. For every dollar spent, carriers 

received more than a dollar back in benefits that could be quantified for this analysis. To 

demonstrate this effect, Table 20, Table 21, Table 22, and Table 23 present the average benefits a 

motor carrier could expect to receive for each dollar invested in FCWS. 

Table 20. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing Technology, 

3% Discount Rate without Financing 

Average Annual VMT 

FCWS 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWS 

44% 

Efficacy 

FCWSACC 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWSACC 

44% 

Efficacy 

80,000 $1.72 $3.61 $1.51 $3.17 

100,000 $2.15 $4.52 $1.89 $3.97 

120,000 $2.59 $5.42 $2.27 $4.76 

140,000 $3.02 $6.32 $2.65 $5.55 

160,000 $3.45 $7.22 $3.03 $6.34 

Table 21. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing Technology, 

7% Discount Rate without Financing 

Average Annual VMT 

FCWS 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWS 

44% 

Efficacy 

FCWSACC 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWSACC 

44% 

Efficacy 

80,000 $1.59 $3.32 $1.39 $2.92 

100,000 $1.98 $4.15 $1.74 $3.64 

120,000 $2.38 $4.98 $2.09 $4.37 

140,000 $2.77 $5.81 $2.43 $5.10 

160,000 $3.17 $6.64 $2.78 $5.83 

19 
Table 22. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing Technology, 

3% Discount Rate with Financing 

Average Annual VMT 

FCWS 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWS 

44% 

Efficacy 

FCWSACC 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWSACC 

44% 

Efficacy 

80,000 $1.57 $3.29 $1.38 $2.89 

100,000 $1.96 $4.11 $1.72 $3.61 

120,000 $2.36 $4.94 $2.07 $4.33 

140,000 $2.75 $5.76 $2.41 $5.05 

160,000 $3.14 $6.58 $2.76 $5.78 

Table 23. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing Technology, 

7% Discount Rate with Financing 

Average Annual VMT 

FCWS 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWS 

44% 

Efficacy 

FCWSACC 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWSACC 

44% 

Efficacy 

80,000 $1.52 $3.19 $1.33 $2.79 

100,000 $1.90 $3.98 $1.67 $3.49 

120,000 $2.28 $4.78 $2.00 $4.19 

140,000 $2.66 $5.58 $2.33 $4.89 

160,000 $3.04 $6.37 $2.67 $5.59 

5.1.1 Payback Periods 

Payback periods were also calculated to determine the length of time required to recover the 

initial investments made for the FCWS. Although the motor carrier can expect a positive return 

on investment by purchasing the technology, the amount of time it will take for a motor carrier to 

realize positive benefits after purchasing the system varies by the average VMT per truck and the 

type of the technology. Shorter payback periods reflect less funding risk. Yet the payback period 

does not address the time value of money, nor does it go beyond the initial recovery of the 

investment. The formula is: 

PaybackPeriod

AnnualCashInflow = SystemCost

For example, with the cost of $1,415 for the FCWS and the expected return of $1,093 annually 

for a VMT of 80,000 at the maximum efficacy of 44 percent, the payback period would be 

$1,415 divided by $1,093, which equals 1.3 years or 16 months. 

20 
The payback periods are shown in Table 24. In all cases, motor carriers with costs similar to 

those assumed for this analysis can expect a payback period well within the anticipated lifetime 

of the technology. 

Table 24. Payback Period for Technologies in Months 

Average Annual 

VMT 

FCWS 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWS 

44% 

Efficacy 

FCWS-ACC

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWS-ACC 

44% 

Efficacy 

80,000 33 16 37 18 

100,000 26 12 30 14 

120,000 22 10 25 12 

140,000 19 9 21 10 

160,000 16 8 19 9 

5.1.2 Indirect Costs 

The previous sections provide information about the direct costs of preventable crashes that 

could be reasonably quantified; however, decisions relating to the purchase of FCWS should also 

include the consideration of indirect costs. 

To gain a broader understanding of the importance of all crash costs to motor carriers, a 

convenience survey was delivered to motor carriers associated with the Commercial Vehicle 

Safety Alliance, the American Trucking Associations, and select affiliated state trucking 

associations. In all, 56 motor carriers responded to the questionnaire. The respondents 

represented a broad range of motor carrier fleet sizes, operational types, and characteristics. 

Although the distribution of respondents by demographic factors did not necessarily mimic the 

statistical distributions of the motor carrier industry at large, the respondents represented a 

distribution of carrier types sufficiently broad to make it an adequate sample from which to infer 

motor carrier perceptions. 

The motor carriers were asked to rate the importance to their companies of each of 21 crash 

impacts presented in a list using a Likert scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “Not Very Significant” and 

5 being “Very Significant.” Table 25 presents the ranking of crash cost importance based on the 

value of the responses. 

These results showed that the first 12 top-ranked crash cost areas included indirect costs, such as 

impacts on insurance costs, safety ratings, public image, and employee morale, as true impacts to 

carriers. The fact that FCWS have the potential to address these important indirect costs can add 

to the benefits of purchasing these systems. 

21 
Table 25. Motor Carrier Perceptions of Crash Cost Importance 

Crash Impact 

Rank Based 

on Mean 

Importance 

Mean Perception 

of Crash Cost 

Importance 

Impact on liability insurance rates 1 4.59 

Equipment and property damage 2 4.50 

Cost of replacing drivers 3 4.45 

Impact on Federal safety rating 4 4.37 

Crash-related legal expenses 5 4.29 

Impact on Workers’ Compensation rates 6 4.25 

Impact on medical insurance costs 7 4.21 

Loss of customer goodwill and/or business 8 4.15 

Impact on public image 9 4.13 

Environmental clean-up costs 10 4.06 

Cargo damage/loss 11 4.04 

Impact on employee morale 12 4.04 

Reimbursement of emergency response costs 13 3.85 

Cost of management time spent on crash settlement 14 3.74 

Liability from automated data collection via technology 16 3.73 

Cost of off-loading cargo and transport by relief vehicle 15 3.73 

Cost of towing/recovering damaged vehicle 17 3.70 

Cost of accident investigation 18 3.66 

Crash-related fines 19 3.64 

Crash-related administrative costs 20 3.42 

Shipping penalties 21 3.12 

5.2 STEP 6: SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS 

Certain industry segments will experience different costs and benefits due to differences in 

operating practices. The costs and benefits for these industry segments may fall outside the 

normal scope of carrier operations and assumptions used for the crash cost estimates in Step 2. 

This sensitivity analysis was included to provide some context for small carriers, since this BCA 

overall assessment uses economic assumptions that may be more pertinent to medium-sized and 

large carriers. However, FMCSA and ATRI are presently undertaking a separate OSS assessment 

focusing on the unique issues and economics of small carriers. Lastly, this Step 6 sensitivity 

analysis can also be applied for high-value cargo carriers. 

22 
5.2.1 Small Carriers 

It is important to consider small carriers separately from large carriers because of discrete 

differences in their financial and operating environments. For instance, small carriers are 

unlikely to be self-insured; therefore, out-of-pocket costs per crash will initially be much lower 

for small carriers. The median deductible for a motor carrier will fall near the low end of the 

$5,000 to $50,000 range. Assuming that the probability that a small carrier will be involved in a 

crash is the same as in the original analysis, the estimated costs of a rear-end crash with the 

insurance deductibles of $50,000 and $5,000 are shown in Table 26 and Table 27, respectively. 

Also, this cost estimate uses approximately 10 percent of the Workers’ Compensation costs that 

may be borne by typical insured motor carriers. Other costs that were assumed to be covered by 

small carriers included driver replacement costs and the operational costs for cargo delivery 

delays; loading and unloading cargo; towing, inventory and storage; and miscellaneous costs. 

Environmental costs were also assumed to be carrier out-of-pocket costs not covered by 

insurance. If environmental costs were not incurred in the crashes, these benefits would be even 

lower. 

Table 26. Cost Estimates per Rear-End Crash by Crash Severity 

with Insurance Deductible of $50,000 

Cost Category PDO Injury Fatal 

Driver Replacement N/A $700 $2,800 

Workers’ Compensation N/A $627 $2,509 

Operational—Cargo delivery delays $750 $750 $750 

Operational—Loading and unloading cargo $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 

Operational—Towing, inventory, and storage $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 

Operational—Miscellaneous $400 $400 $400 

Environmental $14,000 $14,000 $14,000 

Insurance Deductible $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 

Total $72,650 $73,977 $77,959 

Table 27. Cost Estimates per Rear-End Crash by Crash Severity 

with Insurance Deductible of $5,000 

Cost Category PDO Injury Fatal 

Driver Replacement N/A $700 $2,800 

Workers’ Compensation N/A $627 $2,509 

Operational—Cargo delivery delays $750 $750 $750 

Operational—Loading and unloading cargo $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 

Operational—Towing, inventory, and storage $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 

Operational—Miscellaneous $400 $400 $400 

Environmental $14,000 $14,000 $14,000 

Insurance Deductible $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 

Total $27,650 $28,977 $32,959 

23 
The total values in Table 28 and Table 29 provide an estimate of the expected value of crash 

costs that can be avoided through the use of FCWS at different efficacy rates and at a typical 

VMT of 100,000. The resulting expected total costs are the sum of the probability of each 

possible outcome of the crashes preventable by FCWS multiplied by its estimated cost. Each 

total cost value represents the average annual amount one could “expect” as the cost of the crash 

per vehicle at a common annual 100,000 VMT. 

Table 28. FCWS: Average Annual Crash Costs per Crash Avoided 

for an Average Annual VMT of 100,000 VMT at 21% Efficacy 

Deductible PDO Injury Fatal 

Total 

Cost* 

$5,000 $74 $36 $1 $111 

$50,000 $194 $93 $2 $289 

*Total Cost may not be equal to the summation of numbers shown for PDO, 

Injury, and Fatal, due to independent rounding. 

Table 29. FCWS: Average Annual Crash Costs per Crash Avoided 

for an Average Annual VMT of 100,000 VMT at 44% Efficacy 

Deductible PDO Injury Fatal 

Total 

Cost* 

$5,000 $155 $76 $2 $233 

$50,000 $407 $195 $4 $605 

*Total Cost may not be equal to the summation of numbers shown for PDO, 

Injury, and Fatal, due to independent rounding. 

After determining the net present values of the costs and benefits of the FCWS, the anticipated 

benefits of purchasing the FCWS per dollar spent were calculated for 100,000 VMT; they are 

shown below in Table 30 and Table 31. It was assumed that most small carriers would finance 

the purchase of the technology; therefore, the present value of the financed costs of the FCWS, 

both without and with ACC, at 3 percent and 7 percent from Table 19 were used to determine 

the results. 

Table 30. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing FCWS/FCWS-ACC 

per Crash Avoided for an Average Annual VMT of 100,000 VMT, 

3% Discount Rate with Financing 

Deductible 

FCWS 

21% Efficacy 

FCWS 

44% Efficacy 

FCWS-ACC 

21% Efficacy 

FCWS-ACC 

44% Efficacy 

$5,000 $0.33 $0.70 $0.29 $0.61 

$50,000 $0.87 $1.82 $0.76 $1.60 

24 
Table 31. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing FCWS/FCWS-ACC 

per Crash Avoided for an Average Annual VMT of 100,000 VMT, 

7% Discount Rate with Financing 

Deductible 

FCWS 

21% Efficacy 

FCWS 

44% Efficacy 

FCWS-ACC 

21% Efficacy 

FCWS-ACC 

44% Efficacy 

$5,000 $0.32 $0.68 $0.28 $0.59 

$50,000 $0.84 $1.76 $0.74 $1.55 

Since many rear-end crashes involving large trucks may not include environmental costs, the 

benefits of the FCWS, both without and with ACC, at 3 percent and 7 percent would be even 

lower for carriers who are not self-insured than the values shown in Table 30 and Table 31. At an 

annual average 100,000 VMT, the benefits would range from $0.60 per dollar spent on FCWS at 

a 21 percent efficacy rate to $1.47 per dollar spent on FCWS at a 44 percent efficacy rate for 

carriers with a $50,000 deductible, if no environmental costs are included in the analyses. 

Based on the overall probability of involvement in a rear-end crash, a small carrier may not reach 

the level of a dollar or more of benefits for each dollar spent on financing the technology over 

five years. However, an excessive number of crashes in a short time period can seriously affect a 

small carrier’s insurance premiums and deductible levels. As the number of crashes increases, so 

will the insurance costs, until the insurance costs equal or exceed the original FCWS investment, 

or until the carrier is eventually dropped by the insurer. The formula for such a consequence 

varies by number of crashes, severity, and timeline. For this reason, an investment in the 

technology may still be considered prudent for added protection against rising insurance costs. 

When the risk of involvement in a rear-end crash is spread over the entire population of small 

motor carriers, the benefits may not always exceed the costs for small carriers. However, benefits 

may still exist for small carriers. The overall probability of being involved in a rear-end crash is 

low, but once it occurs, the costs to the small carrier can increase dramatically. According to 

insurance industry data, for a deductible level of $5,000 per crash, the premium payment per 

truck will be approximately $4,000 annually per power unit. Estimates suggest that as long as the 

average loss per power unit does not exceed 50–65 percent of the total premium payment, the 

annual premium for the motor carrier may not increase. At the $4,000 premium used in this 

discussion, the average loss per power unit cannot exceed $2,618 to prevent a rate increase. 

Insurance companies consider many factors when determining motor carrier premium payments. 

However, if the insurance provider is not able to generate its required return, or experiences a 

loss by covering a carrier, it is highly likely that the insurance provider will increase the motor 

carrier’s annual premiums. For example, increasing the $4,000 premium by 10 percent because 

of a rear-end crash, results in a new annual premium per truck of $4,400, an increase of $400 per 

truck. Over a five-year period without any further premium increases above the $400 per truck, 

this is an additional cost in premium payments of $2,000 per power unit. In contrast, the 

expected cost associated with financing an FCWS unit is $1,610.00. If the purchase of this unit 

prevents a crash that would result in higher insurance premiums, it will save a motor carrier 

approximately $390 per power unit. 

25 
Nevertheless, it is recognized that small carriers do not always have the front-end liquidity or 

financial borrowing capacity to invest even in systems that generate a positive return on 

investment. 

5.2.2 High-Value Cargo Carriers 

For high-value cargo carriers, the costs associated with the damage to high-value cargo will be 

greater than the average carrier’s costs. If the cargo damage costs range from $50,000 to 

$1,000,000, instead of an average of $2,500, the total estimated crash costs for rear-end crashes 

increase by $47,500 and $997,500, respectively, due to operational cost changes. The total crash 

costs accounting for these differences are shown in Table 32 and Table 33. 

Table 32. Cost Estimates per Rear-End Crash by Crash Severity 

with High-Value Cargo Damages of $50,000 

Cost Category PDO Injury Fatal 

Labor and Workers’ Compensation N/A $6,973 $27,891 

Operational $58,650 $58,650 $58,650 

Environmental $14,000 $14,000 $14,000 

Property Damage $27,500 $27,500 $27,500 

Legal Settlement N/A $89,440 $775,680 

Court Costs and Other Legal Fees $70,000 $90,000 $200,000 

Total $170,150 $286,563 $1,103,721 

Table 33. Cost Estimates per Rear-End Crash by Crash Severity 

with High-Value Cargo Damages of $1,000,000 

Cost Category PDO Injury Fatal 

Labor and Workers’ Compensation N/A $6,973 $27,891 

Operational $1,008,650 $1,008,650 $1,008,650 

Environmental $14,000 $14,000 $14,000 

Property Damage $27,500 $27,500 $27,500 

Legal Settlement N/A $89,440 $775,680 

Court Costs and Other Legal Fees $70,000 $90,000 $200,000 

Total $1,120,150 $1,236,563 $2,053,721 

Following the same methodology described in the previous sections, the anticipated benefits of 

FCWS for carriers of high-value cargo are presented below in Table 34 and 

Table 35. 

26 
27 

Table 34. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing FCWS per Crash Avoided for an 

Average Annual VMT of 100,000 VMT, 3% Discount Rate with Financing 

High-Value Cargo 

Damages 

FCWS 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWS 

44% 

Efficacy 

FCWSACC 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWSACC 

44% 

Efficacy 

$50,000 $2.53 $5.30 $2.22 $4.65 

$1,000,000 $13.83 $28.98 $12.14 $25.43 

Table 35. Anticipated Benefits per Dollar Spent for Purchasing FCWS per Crash Avoided for an 

Average Annual VMT of 100,000 VMT, 7% Discount Rate with Financing 

High-Value Cargo 

Damages 

FCWS 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWS 

44% 

Efficacy 

FCWSACC 

21% 

Efficacy 

FCWSACC 

44% 

Efficacy 

$50,000 $2.45 $5.13 $2.15 $4.50 

$1,000,000 $13.39 $28.05 $11.75 $24.61 

Since the crash costs are greater for high-value cargo carriers, the benefits that accrue from the 

technology are greater as well. 
6. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 

The following findings and conclusions were derived from this economic analysis for FCWS. 

The average costs of rear-end crashes are approximately $122,650, $239,063, and $1,056,221 for 

PDO crashes, injury crashes, and fatal crashes, respectively. These costs reflect the direct out-ofpocket costs for motor carriers that have deductibles at or above crash costs or are self-insured. 

However, any trucking industry stakeholder that is a party to crash cost calculations or liability—

such as insurers, legal defense firms and industry suppliers—can use the figures to understand 

the safety impacts of onboard safety systems. 

Regardless of the average VMTs traveled, motor carriers with a typical likelihood of being 

involved in a rear-end crash will achieve positive returns on investment by purchasing and using 

FCWS. Based on the cost and crash scenarios used herein, many carriers investing in FCWS will 

achieve a higher return on investment than those than those who do not invest in the system. 

The sensitivity analysis further demonstrates that even small carriers, which generally will not 

incur the same per-truck crash costs as larger carriers, can realize added benefits related to 

insurance implications if one or more crashes are preventable using FCWS. 

28 
7. REFERENCES 

Battelle. 2007. Evaluation of the Volvo Intelligent Vehicle Initiative Field Operational Test Final 

Report [report online]. U.S. Department of Transportation [cited 1 June 2008]. Available 

online: http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov/JPODOCS/REPTS_TE/14352_files/

Federal Highway Administration. 2001–2005. Federal Highway Statistics Publications. Section 

V: Roadway Extent, Characteristics, and Performance, Table VM-1: Vehicle miles of travel 

and related data, by highway category and vehicle type. U.S. Department of Transportation 

[cited 1 June 2008]. Available online: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.htm 

Internal Revenue Service. 2007. How to Depreciate Property. Publication 946. Appendix A. 

MACRS Percentage Table Guide, General Depreciation System (GDS), Table A-1. U.S. 

Department of the Treasury [cited 1 June 2008]. Available online: 

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p946.pdf 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 2005. National Automotive 

Sampling System: General Estimates System Analytical User’s Manual, 1988–2005 [report 

online]. U.S. Department of Transportation [cited 1 June 2008]. Available online: 

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/AUM05.PDF 

Office of Management and Budget. 1992. Guidelines and Discount Rates for Benefit-Cost 

Analysis of Federal Programs. OMB Circular A-94. Executive Office of the President [cited 

1 June 2008]. Available online: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a094/a094.html 

Rodriguez J, Kosir M, Lantz B, Griffin G, Glatt J. 2000. The Costs of Truckload Driver 

Turnover. Fargo, North Dakota State University, Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute 

[cited 1 June 2008]. Available online: http://www.ugpti.org/pubs/pdf/SP146.pdf 

Short J, Boyle L, Shackelford S, Inderbitzen B, Bergoffen G. 2007. The Role of Safety Culture 

in Preventing Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes. CTBSSP Synthesis of Safety Practice No. 

14 [cited 1 June 2008]. Available online: 

http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/ctbssp/ctbssp_syn_14.pdf 

U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). 2001. Minimum Levels of Financial 

Responsibility for Motor Carriers. Code of Federal Regulations 49 CFR, Part 387 [cited 1 

June 2008]. Available online: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rulesregulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrguidedetails.asp?rule_toc=756§ion_toc=756 

Wang JS, Knipling RR, Blincoe LJ. 1999. The Dimensions of Motor Vehicle Crash Risk. 

Journal of Transportation and Statistics 2(1):19–43 

29 

APPENDIX A: DESCRIPTION OF DATA SETS 

National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (NASS/GES) 

SOURCES: 

GES Data Files from 

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.0efe59a360fbaad24ec86e10dba046a0/

GES Analytical Users Manual, 1988–2005 from 

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/AUM05.PDF

The GES is directed by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, which is a research and 

development arm of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).∗

∗ For this Appendix content, the te rm “ accident” is maintained to pres erve the integrit y of the actual data derived f rom the GES fields and 

database. 

NHTSA is 

an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) responsible for reducing injuries 

and fatalities on America’s roadways through education and research on safety standards and 

enforcement activity. The GES sample collects data from GES data collectors in 60 different 

geographic sites across the United States. These data collectors work with approximately 400 

police agencies in these sites; during each visit, the data collectors collect all police traffic 

accident reports (PARs) and then select a sample of these reports. An NHTSA contractor codes 

these reports into data files, while checking for quality, validity, and consistency. According to 

the NASS-GES Analytical User’s Manual, “GES is used to identify highway safety problem 

areas, provide a basis for regulatory and consumer information initiatives, and form the basis for 

cost and benefit analyses of highway safety initiatives” (NHTSA 2005, 3). 

The PARs that GES data files are coded from represent a probability sample of all policereported crashes in the United States. Therefore, once the records of interest within GES are 

isolated, a weight must be applied to calculate estimates of national crash characteristics, 

including items such as the number of crashes of a specific type, or the number of injuries within 

that accident type. This weight is indicated by the “Weight” variable in each GES data file; this 

weight is “the product of the inverse of the probabilities of selection at each of the three stages in 

the sampling process” (NHTSA 2005, 7) 

The main limitation of using GES as a data source is that when looking at extremely specific 

crash types, as this analysis does, there is a possibility that a query will return a small number of 

records. The actual number of crashes that each record represents is given by the weight, as 

discussed in the previous paragraph. The more specific the query (i.e., the more variables that are 

constrained), the more limited the number of records which are returned. The data fields and 

variables in them that were used in this analysis are presented in Table 36. 

 

31
32

Table 36. GES Fields and Variables Defining Crashes Addressed by CWS 

Field Name Variables for Rear-End Collisions 

Body Type 

BODY_TYP (V05) 

64—Straight Truck 

66—Truck Tractor 

78—Unknown Medium/Heavy Truck 

VEH_ROLE (V22) 1—Striking 

Accident Type 

ACC_TYPE (V23) 

20—Rear-end, Stopped 

24—Rear-end, Slowing 

28—Rear-end, Decelerating 

32—Rear-end, Specifics Other 

33—Rear-end, Specifics Unknown 

Critical Event 

P_CRASH2 (V26) 

Other Motor Vehicle In Lane: 

50—Other vehicle stopped 

51—Traveling in same direction with lower steady speed 

52—Traveling in same direction while decelerating 

Injury Severity 

INJ_SEV (P09) 

0—No Injury 

1—Possible Injury 

2—Non-incapacitating Injury 

3—Incapacitating Injury 

4—Fatal Injury 

5—Injured, Severity Unknown 

9—Unknown—[assumed as no injury] 

Person Type 

PER_TYPE (P3Z) 

1—Driver of a Motor Vehicle 

2—Passenger of a Motor Vehicle 

9—Unknown Occupant 

Federal Highway Statistics 

Federal Highway Statistics publications are managed by the Federal Highway Administration’s 

Office of Highway Policy Information. The Highway Statistics Series contains statistical 

information on a variety of highway usage topics including vehicle mileage. The highway data 

analyzed in the Highway Statistics Series are submitted by individual states and analyzed against 

previously submitted data to ensure accuracy. The total number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) 

for combination and straight trucks in the United States, 217,488 million miles averaged acrn 

years 2001–2005, (Federal Highway Administration 2001–2005) is shown in Table 37. 

Table 37. Average Annual VMT (millions of miles) for Combination Vehicles, 2001–2005 

Truck Type 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Average

Combination and Straight Trucks 207,686 214,530 215,884 226,504 222,836 217,488 
APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW GUIDE – 

MOTOR CARRIER AND VENDOR DATA ON FCWS EFFICACY 

AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT 

VENDOR INTERVIEW GUIDE∗

∗

 T his i nformation collection is cov ered by the Of fice of M anagement and Budget and Paperwork Reduction Act exem ption f or I TS-related 

surveys, questionnaires, and interviews defined in Section 5305, Title V, Subtitle C, paragraph (i) (2) of SAFETEA-LU (2005), which states that 

“Any survey, questionnaire, or interview th at the Secretary considers necessary to ca rry out the evaluation of any test or pro gram assessment 

activity under this subchapter shall not be subject to chapter 35 of title 44.” 

All responses will be kept confidential. We will not report any identifying information. 

Name/Company: 

Title: 

Phone/E-mail: 

1. Which types of crashes does the forward collision warning system most likely prevent? 

 Rear-end collisions 

 Other: 

 Other: 

 Other: 

2. Is adaptive cruise control standard with your system, or is it optional? 

 Standard 

 Optional 

3. Recognizing that price information is sensitive, please indicate a price range for the forward 

collision warning systems you provide. 

$ to $ 

4. What is the average per-unit installation cost for the technology? 

$ 

 

33
5. What are the average annual per-unit ongoing costs for the technology? 

$ 

a. What do these ongoing costs include? 

 Maintenance 

 Inspection 

 Other: 

 Other: 

 Other: 

6. How many hours are suggested to train a driver to use the technology? 

 Hours 

7. What is the estimated payback period (breakeven point) for the technology? 

 Years 

8. Please complete the table below to indicate how effective the technology is at preventing 

each crash type for each vehicle configuration/trailer type. 

Crash Type Single 

Units 

5-Axle, 

Single 

Trailers 

5-Axle, 

Single Tank 

Trailers 

5-Axle, Single 

Flat Bed 

Trailers 

5-Axle, Double 

Trailers 

(Vans) 

Longer 

Combination 

Vehicles 

Rear-End Collisions 

Other: 

Other: 

Other: 

Other: 

Other: 

9. Could you please provide a list of companies that currently use your product? 

34
MOTOR CARRIER INTERVIEW GUIDE 

All responses will be kept confidential. We will not report any identifying information. 

Name/Company: 

Title: 

Phone/E-mail: 

1. How is your fleet best described? 

 Private fleet 

 Truckload carrier 

 Less than truckload carrier 

 Owner/operator 

 Other, please specify: 

2. Please complete the following table for your company fleet. 

Truck Category Number 

Percent with Forward 

Collision Warning Systems 

Currently Installed 

Year Expected 100% 

Installation 

Straight Trucks 

Tractors 

3. What is your average length of haul? 

 100 miles or less (local) 

 Between 100 and 500 miles (regional) 

 500 miles or more (national) 

4. Does the forward collision warning system your company uses include adaptive cruise 

control? 

 Yes 

 No 

5. Which types of crashes does the forward collision warning system most likely prevent? 

 Rear-end collisions 

 Other: 

 Other: 

 Other: 

35
6. For which vehicle configurations have you experienced safety benefits (from the 

technology)? 

 Single unit (how many axles? ) 

 Five-axle tractor, single trailer combinations 

 Five-axle tractor, double trailer (vans) combination 

 Longer combination vehicles 

 Tank trucks 

 Flat-bed trucks 

7. Recent industry data have identified the following human capital costs associated with largetruck crashes. Please complete the table below to indicate how your company’s data compare 

to the current estimates. 

Cost Category 

Short-Term 

Staff 

Disruption 

Cost of 

Driver 

Recruitment 

Marketing 

Training 

Costs 

(i.e., School 

Costs, 

Instructor 

Costs) 

Testing Costs 

(i.e., 

Background 

Checks, 

Physicals) 

Hiring Costs 

(i.e., Bonuses, 

Training, and 

Relocation) 

Orientation 

Costs Total Costs

Current 

Estimate No data No data $3,350 $500 $500 $2,650 $7,000 

Your 

Estimate 

8. Recognizing that price information is sensitive, please indicate a price range for the forward 

collision warning system you use. 

$ to $ 

9. What is the average per-unit installation cost for the technology? 

$ 

10. What are the average annual per-unit ongoing costs for the technology? 

$ 

a. What do these ongoing costs include? 

 Maintenance 

 Inspection 

 Other: 

 Other: 

 Other: 

36
37

11. How many hours do you provide to train a driver to use the technology? 

a. How are drivers compensated for this time? 

$ per hour OR $ total 

12. What is the estimated payback period (breakeven point) for the technology? 

$ years 

13. Please complete the following chart for trucks that are equipped with forward collision 

warning systems. 

Technology Type: 

Average Annual VMT per Truck: 

Average Number of Total Crashes Per Year: 

Crash Type 

Average Number 

of Crashes Per 

Year 

Estimated Number of 

Crashes Avoided with 

Technology Per Year 

Average Cost 

per Crash 

Jackknifes 

Other∗: 

Other*: 

Other*: 

 

∗

 Please complete this only for other crashes that may be mitigated by the technology. 

39

APPENDIX C: SUPPORTING DATA 

This appendix contains the annual number of crashes, injuries, and fatality crashes for rear-end 

collisions in the years 2001–2005, as presented in Table 38, Table 39, and Table 40. A note on 

all figures: Within GES, the weight is often a seven-digit figure, with three numbers before and 

after the decimal; therefore, the following numbers are rounded. 

Table 38. Annual Number of PDO, Injury, and Fatal Rear-End Crashes 

with Pre-Crash Movement around a Curve, 2001–2005 

Crash Type 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Average

Number of PDO Crashes 28,765 27,705 29,520 26,168 26,245 27,681

Number of Injury Crashes 13,272 13,870 12,639 13,057 12,273 13,022

Number of Fatal Crashes 435 149 254 145 191 235

Table 39. Annual Number of Injuries and Fatalities for Rear-End Crashes, 2001–2005 

Crash Type 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Average

Injuries in Injury Crashes 17,437 17,934 15,846 16,379 15,783 16,676

Fatalities in Fatal Crashes 445 153 259 145 201 241

Injuries in Fatal Crashes 348 125 451 187 226 267

Table 40. Truck Driver Injuries and Fatalities in Rear-End Crashes, 2001–2005 

Crash Statistic 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Average

Number Total Injury Crashes 13,272 13,870 12,639 13,057 12,273 13,022

Number Truck Driver Injuries 1,662 1,286 1,511 1,421 1,828 1,542

Number Drivers Injured per Injury 

Crash 

0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1

Number Total Fatality Crashes 445 149 254 145 191 235

Number Truck Driver Fatalities 266 44 24 36 72 88

Number Drivers Killed per Fatality 

Crash 

0.6 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.4

41

APPENDIX D: COST DATA – 

MOTOR CARRIER QUESTIONNAIRE AND 

RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS 

Part 1: Interview Guide begins on the next page. 

Part 2: Survey Respondent Demographics follows. 

43

PART 1: INTERVIEW GUIDE 

ATRI is currently working on a trucking industry research initiative to develop a comprehensive 

cost-benefit analysis of select safety technologies, including rollover stability control, forwardlooking collision warning systems, and lane departure warning systems. The purpose of this 

interview is to gather real-world information about the costs associated with collisions that could 

be prevented or reduced by these types of technologies.∗

∗

 T his in formation collection is cov ered by the OM B and Paper work R eduction Act exe mption for I TS-related sur veys, que stionnaires, and 

interviews defined in Section 5305, Title V, Subtitle C, paragraph (i)(2) of SAFETEA-LU (2005), which states that “Any survey, questionnaire, 

or interview that t he Secretary considers necessary to car ry out the e valuation of any test or program assessment activity under this su bchapter 

shall not be subject to chapter 35 of title 44.” 

†

 For this Appendix content, the term “accident” is maintained to preserve the integrity of the actual survey content rendered by ATRI. 

The overall goal is to determine a company’s approximate costs associated with different types 

of accidents; in particular, rollovers, side-swipes, run-off-road, rear-end accidents, and, to a 

lesser extent, jackknife crashes. 

Thank you in advance for your time and support on this important industry research project! 

For each of the following tables, please consider an average accident of each type. Then 

provide the number or extent of incidents, injuries, and average cost(s) for each crash type 

for each metric.†

 

45

Labor Costs by Collision Type: 

Cost Factors Rollovers Side-Swipes Run-Off-Road Rear-ENumber of accidents. Number of drivers injured (per 100 accidents).Costs Associated with Permanent Injuries to DriverNumber of accidents involving permanent injury. Number of drivers replaced (per 100 accidents). Costs of driver recruitment marketing. Training Costs (i.e., school costs, instructor costs). Testing Costs (i.e., background checks, physicals). Hiring Costs (i.e., bonuses, training and relocation). Orientation costs. Costs Associated with Temporary Injuries to DriverNumber of accidents involving temporary injury. Number of drivers temporarily replaced (per 100 accidents). Costs of recruitment marketing. Training Costs (i.e., school costs, instructor costs). Testing Costs (i.e., background checks, physicals). Recruitment Costs (i.e., bonuses, training and relocation). Orientation costs. 
1. A recent study placed the average worker replacement costs for all companies at $8,234. Do 

you consider this number reasonable? Yes No 

1a. If no, what estimate would you consider reasonable? 

2. Are there additional labor costs we have not considered? Yes No 

2a. If yes, will you please describe those costs and give estimates? 

Costs Estimates 

3. 

3a. If yes, can you describe your process and give an estimate? 

4. Can you estimate the wages for relief drivers? Yes 

Do you budget or estimate the cost of driver replacement for the upcoming fiscal or 

calendar year? Yes No 

 No 

4a. If yes, please give an estimate: 

4b. If yes, are they hourly, salary, or paid by the mile? 

Hourly 

 

 Salary By the mile 

46
Operational Costs by Collision Type (Indicate “N/A” if not available or applicable): 

Cost Factors Rollovers SideSwipes 

Run-OffRoad Rear-End Jackknife 

Number of accidents involving 

cargo damage (per 100 accidents)

Average cost of cargo damage 

due to accident. 

Avg. cost of secondary cargo 

damage (i.e., rain, exposure to 

weather).

Avg. cost associated with cargo 

delay (i.e., penalties and/or 

reimbursements for late delivery). 

Additional inventory costs for 

storing cargo. 

Any costs associated with 

guarding cargo after accident. 

Avg. cost associated with 

unloading or loading cargo 

(do not include labor costs). 

Miscellaneous operational costs 

(i.e., communications expenses, 

press releases, etc.). 

Emergency supplies relating to 

accident (i.e., flares, fire 

extinguishers, etc.). 

Towing Costs: Tractor 

 Trailer 

5. What are the primary commodity types your company hauls? 

6. How do accident costs vary by the commodity type? 

7. Does your company calculate loss of “goodwill” when considering the costs of an 

accident (including employee goodwill, customer goodwill, and public goodwill)? 

Yes No 

7a. If yes, can you give an estimate and describe how you calculate goodwill costs? 

Estimate: 

Calculation: 

 

47
Environmental Costs by Collision Type: 

Cost Factors Rollovers SideSwipes 

Run-OffRoad Rear-End Jackknife 

Number of accidents involving 

environmental impact costs (per 

100 accidents) 

Average cost of fines 

Average out-of-pocket costs for 

cleanup 

8. Does your company incur any environmental costs other than the ones mentioned above? 

Yes No 

8a. If yes, please estimate and describe the type of costs you occur. 

Costs Estimates 

48
Insurance Costs by Collision Type: 

Cost Factors Rollovers SideSwipes 

Run-OffRoad Rear-End Jackknife 

Estimates of increased per-truck 

premiums due to each reportable 

accident. 

Estimate of per-accident out-of 

pocket. 

Estimate of per accident out-of 

pocket costs relating to property 

damage (tractor and trailer). 

9. What is your average deductible per vehicle/accident? 

10. Does the deductible vary by type of truck? Yes No 

10a. If yes, can you please describe and give a range for your deductibles by truck type? 

11. Does the deductible vary by driver history? Yes No 

11a. If yes, can you please describe and give a range for your deductibles? 

49
Legal Costs by Collision Type (per accident): 

Cost Factors Rollovers SideSwipes 

Run-OffRoad Rear-End Jackknife 

Average court costs. 

Legal fees. 

Average out-of-pocket settlement 

costs. 

12. Are there additional legal expenses we have not considered? Yes No 

12a. If yes, please estimate and describe the type of costs you occur. 

Costs Estimates 

13. Will you please list the average cost of all crashes assuming self-insured? 

50
PART 2: SURVEY RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS 

Carriers: 

Carrier A: This is a large (1,000+ power units) national tank truck carrier that handles 

bulk commodity shipping operations, providing services to the entire continental United 

States. The fleet primarily consists of tank trailers and a smaller fleet of flat-bed trailers. 

Primary commodities are chemicals and petroleum products. 

Carrier B: This is a mid-sized (100–500 power units) regional truckload carrier that 

operates in the eastern United States and primarily utilizes van trailers. The carrier’s 

principal commodities include general freight and limited HAZMAT. 

Carrier C: This is a small (<100 power units) specialty carrier that provides expedited 

freight services for customers that require high levels of safety and security, with cargo 

types that are extremely hazardous or sensitive in nature. 

Carrier D: This is a large (1,500+ power units) refrigerated carrier with both truckload 

and less-than-truckload operations. Typical commodities hauled include food products, 

medical supplies, and consumer goods. 

Carrier E: This is a very large (8,000+ power unit) transportation company that provides 

truckload services for shippers in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The carrier 

hauls general commodities with dry vans, and also utilizes flatbeds, specialty, and unsided trailers. The operation is both long- and short-haul. The company relies heavily on 

the use of independent drivers. 

Carrier F: This is a large (1,200+ power units) refrigerated carrier that operates 

throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. This carrier primarily hauls food 

products and consumer goods. 

Insurance Companies: 

Insurance Carrier A: This is a large, national insurance company with an emphasis on 

commercial transportation accounts, and is one of the top five trucking industry insurers. 

Insurance Carrier B: This is a large, national insurance company with a large 

diversified portfolio of coverage, which includes many larger trucking industry accounts. 

51
52

Law Firms: 

Law Firm A: This is a regional law firm with multiple locations throughout the Midwest 

employing more than 80 attorneys. The firm specializes in transportation, litigation 

defense, collection services, and intellectual property. 

Law Firm B: This is a law firm located in the Southeast employing more than 20 

attorneys who specialize in litigation and insurance law. 

Law Firm C: This is a national law firm with multiple locations in the Midwest and 

throughout the world employing more than 100 attorneys. The firm specializes in 

litigation, environmental, intellectual property and real estate law. 

Environmental Clean-Up Firms: 

Environmental Cleanup Company A: This is an environmental clean-up firm located 

in the Southeast that specializes in waste removal, roll-off services, and industrial 

cleaning. This firm performs planned and emergency services. 

Environmental Cleanup Company B: This is an environmental clean-up firm with 

multiple locations along the Eastern Seaboard. The firm’s clean-up services range from 

disaster response to spill management. 
APPENDIX E: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The Forward Collision Warning Systems with Adaptive Cruise Control Benefit-Cost Analysis 

was managed by Ms. Amy Houser of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 

(FMCSA). The project supports FMCSA’s safety goal to reduce the number and severity of 

large-truck fatalities and crashes by encouraging voluntary adoption by motor carriers of 

promising onboard safety technologies. FMCSA’s efforts include an evaluation of the costs and 

benefits to the motor carrier community of adopting the technologies. 

This report provides the analytical framework and findings of the benefit-cost and return-oninvestment analyses for collision warning systems. A number of subject matter experts and 

industry representatives have provided input to the research process, as well as comments on 

study findings. We would like to thank, and recognize the support provided by the following 

individuals.

Ronald R. Knipling, Ph.D. 

Virginia Tech Transportation Center 

Scott Claffey 

Great West Insurance Company 

Dave Melton 

Liberty Mutual Research Institute for 

Safety 

Anne McCartt, Ph.D. 

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 

Rick Craig 

Owner-Operator Independent Drivers 

Association 

Bill Gouse 

American Trucking Associations 

Tom Moses 

The Spill Center 

Bob Interbitzen 

National Private Truck Council 

In addition, the expanded analysis was supported by the following individuals, who provided 

considerable assistance in the form of data, analysis, and review:

Steve Olson 

Great West Casualty Corporation 

John Culp 

Maverick Transportation 

Mark Ramsdell 

Larson Allen 

Tracy McDonald 

Praxair 

Skip Yeakel 

Volvo 

Dean Newell 

Maverick 

Don Lacy 

Prime, Inc. 

Bill Elscholtz 

Overnite Express 

Charles Pursley 

Tennessee Express 

Ron Szapacs 

Air Products 

Andrew Boyle 

Boyle Transportation 

Rick Romer 

Arvin Meritor 

Jerry Waddell 

Cargo Transporters 

John Dickerson 

Hill Bros. 

53