According to a study issued recently by the Federal Motor Carrier Administration.

The High Cost Of Accidents
         The average cost of a police-reported accident involving a tractor with two or more trailers is $117,309,  When there is a fatality, the cost skyrockets to $3.54 million.
Costs of Large Truck and Bus Involved Crashes, done for FMCSA by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, uses government crash data from 1988 through 1997. Cost estimates include medical expenses, emergency services, property damage, lost productivity and "the [monetary] value of the pain, suffering, and quality of life that the family loses because of a death or injury."

Some other findings:

• The 10-year average cost for accidents involving trucks with a gross weight rating over 10,000 lbs. is $75,637.
  

• When there are injuries, the average increases to $217,005 per accident.
  

• Crash costs per 1,000 truck miles are $259 for straight trucks, $138 for single combination trucks, and $134 for multiple combinations.
  

• The costs of large truck crashes in 1997 exceeded $24 billion, including $8.7 in productivity losses, $2.5 billion in resource costs, and quality of life losses valued at $13.1 billion.

Copies of the report are available from the National Technical Information Service, www.ntis.gov or (703) 605-6000.