CDC Report: Georgia No. 4 in Costs Related to Crash Deaths

Car accident-related deaths in the United States cost the medical and work field roughly $41 billion, according to a report released by the .

Georgia ranked number four among the 10 states with the highest medical and work loss costs.

The state spent $1.5 billion in 2005, the most recent year that data on costs associated with crash deaths is available, according to the report. 

Only California ($4.16 billion), Texas ($3.50 billion) and Florida ($3.16 billion) spent more than Georgia in 2005.

"Deaths from motor vehicle crashes are preventable," CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden said in a news release Wednesday. "Seat belts, graduated driver's license programs, child safety seats, and helmet use save lives and reduce health care costs."

The CDC released the report to coincide with the launch of the Decade of Action for Road Safety, a decade the United Nations General Assembly dedicated to focusing on “protecting lives on the world's roads.”

The CDC's Injury Center recommends these tips to prevent injury:

• Primary seat belt laws, which allow motorists to be stopped and cited for not wearing seat belts. Seat belts reduce the risk of death to those riding in the front seat by about half.
• Strong child passenger safety policies, which require children to be placed in age- and size-appropriate child safety and booster seats while riding in vehicles.
• Comprehensive graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems, which are proven to reduce teen crashes. GDL systems help new drivers gain experience under lower-risk conditions by granting driving privileges in stages. The most comprehensive GDL systems have been associated with up to 40 percent decreases in crashes among 16-year-old drivers.
• Universal motorcycle helmet laws, which require riders of all ages to wear helmets. Helmet use can reduce the risk of death in a motorcycle crash by more than one-third and reduce the risk of brain injury by 69 percent.

"These preventable costs are a reflection of the terrible suffering of American families whose loved ones are killed or injured on the roads," Norman Mineta, chairman of Make Roads Safe North America and the longest serving Secretary of Transportation in U.S. history said in a news release Wednesday. "Today, on the launch of the first-ever Decade of Action for Road Safety, occurring in 30 cities across our nation and 50 countries worldwide, it is time for all of us to take action to save lives at home and around the globe."