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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Injury Prevention and Control

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1637609

Assessing the economic cost of road traffic crashes in Saudi Arabia: Potential savings from scaling up interventions

Provisionally accepted
Garrison SpencerGarrison Spencer1Mohammed AlluhidanMohammed Alluhidan2Richard ReithingerRichard Reithinger1*Reem AlsukaitReem Alsukait3Radoslaw CzapskiRadoslaw Czapski3Adwa AlamriAdwa Alamri2Volkan CetinkayaVolkan Cetinkaya3Fatimah AlshehriFatimah Alshehri4Said DahdahSaid Dahdah3Mariam HamzaMariam Hamza3Christopher HerbstChristopher Herbst3Suliman AlghanamSuliman Alghanam4
  • 1RTI International Washington DC, Washington, United States
  • 2Saudi Health Council, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 3World Bank Group, Washington, United States
  • 4Public Health Authority, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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Objective: This study aimed to (1) assess the direct and indirect economic cost associated with road traffic crashes (RTCs) in Saudi Arabia in 2022; and (2) estimate the potential economic savings associated with scaling up the full implementation of three priority road traffic safety interventions (i.e., speed limit enforcement, seat belt enforcement, and a graduated licensing system for new drivers). Methods: A cost-of-illness approach was used to estimate the economic impacts of RTCs in Saudi Arabia in 2022. To estimate how scaling up the three priority interventions to improve road traffic safety in Saudi Arabia would impact the estimated economic costs of RTCs, we applied the International Road Assessment Program method to the data and modeled the interventions' full enforcement. Results: In 2022, the estimated cost of RTCs was Saudi Riyal (SAR) 137.6 billion (USD 36.7 billion), equivalent to 3.3% of Saudi Arabia's GDP. Indirect costs account for 70.2% of the total cost of RTCs, with morbidity-related costs driving most of the cost at 40.2%. Men make up the majority (88%) of road traffic injuries and fatalities in Saudi Arabia, resulting in a significant proportion of the total costs. We estimate that scaling up the three priority interventions could prevent 610 deaths and 3,823 injuries per year, resulting in total annual savings of SAR 14.6 billion (0.35% of GDP). Conclusion: The study underscores the significant costs associated with RTCs in Saudi Arabia and emphasizes the potential substantial economic savings achievable through scaling up existing interventions.

Keywords: Road traffic crashes, cost analysis, Economic cost, Road safety interventions, Saudi Arabia

Received: 29 May 2025; Accepted: 26 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Spencer, Alluhidan, Reithinger, Alsukait, Czapski, Alamri, Cetinkaya, Alshehri, Dahdah, Hamza, Herbst and Alghanam. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Richard Reithinger, RTI International Washington DC, Washington, United States

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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