World Safety Journal (WSJ) Vol. XXXI, N o 2 Page 47 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6420979 World Safety Journal A peer-reviewed journal, published by the World Safety Organization Journal Homepage: https://worldsafety.org/wso-world-safety-journal/ The economic cost of road traffic accidents in Lebanon Elias M. Choueiri 1 , Elie Otayek 2 , and Alain Saroufim 3 1 WSO Board Member and Liaison Officer to the United Nations 2 Adjunct Professor, Western Sydney University, Australia 3 Teaching Assistant and Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil and Material Engineering, UIC, USA KEYWORDS Road Traffic Accidents Accident Cost Willingness-to-pay Human Capital Lebanon ABSTRACT Although it is estimated that more than 1,000 people are killed in road traffic accidents in Lebanon each year, only about 500 people are documented to have died as a result. The continued economic cost of the rising number of traffic accidents is significant and accounts for between 3.2 and 4.8 percent of Lebanon's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Unfortunately, no laws or regulations exist in Lebanon to separate and protect the most vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and motorcyclists, who suffer disproportionately in traffic accidents and account for 30 to 40% of all fatalities on the road. Although Lebanon has introduced a number of tested best practices for driving safety, many of them are not consistently enforced. For instance, about 15% of front seat passengers are listed as wearing seat belts. This paper's primary objective is to quantify the cost of road traffic accidents in Lebanon. For estimation, two methods are used: (1) the willingness to pay (WTP) approach, which values society’s willingness to pay for avoiding death, injury, and damage outcomes from road crashes; and (2) the human capital (HC) approach, which evaluates the economic loss based on the expense relative to a person's injury, lost income, and property damage. 1. INTRODUCTION t is estimated that around 1.3 million people lose their lives as a direct result of automobile accidents every year. Between 20 and 50 million additional people experience injuries that do not result in death, with many of these people developing a disability as a direct result of road accidents. Individuals, families, and nations suffer significant financial losses as a result of these accidents; the losses are the result of the cost of treatment, lost productivity for individuals who have been rendered unable to work as a result of injuries, and the time taken off by family members to care for those who have been hurt. According to the World Health Organization, countries lose about 3% of their gross domestic product due to traffic accidents (WHO). According to recent public health statistics in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), the leading cause of death among young adults is car accidents. In terms of socioeconomic measures, such as accident fatality rates, healthy years of life lost due to accidents, and percentage of GDP lost, MENA  Corresponding Author: elias.choueiri@gmail.com I