(WXYZ) — If you’ve ever been a bad car wreck — you know it ain’t cheap.
New numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are confirming just how costly a crash is.
Traffic crashes in the US cost society $340 billion in 2019. To put those numbers in perspective—that’s over a thousand dollars for each of our nation’s 328 million people.
Accidents can cost hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars.
That’s the case for Tammy Wyse, who says the accident she suffered couldn’t have come at a worse time for her and her family.
He said that he feels like he sometimes has to take money in a pinch.
Tammy said, “For essentials, diapers, baby clothes and petrol.”
Back in October, Inkster’s Tammy was rear-ended.
“The whole bumper is out, the lift gate, the back door is off,” he said. And she can’t open the trunk at all.
The cost of repairing a mini van is more than worth it. She said it would cost more than $4,000 to fix the car when it cost $2,000.
Tammy – a single mom – tells me right now, she can’t afford to buy a new car.
“If the kids were older it would be a lot easier, a lot better to manage, it wouldn’t be such a big deal, but like right now it’s not the best of times,” she said.
Turns out that a lot of drivers are just one accident away from Tammy’s place.
James Snead said he couldn’t repair his car if it crashed.
“I don’t think I’ll pass; I might as well have ten bucks in the bank,” said James.
“In the post-Covid inflationary environment it has been tough to find ways to save money but there are still things you can do,” said Shane Henry, president of Consolidated Agencies.
Shane gave me these three tips to help you save money if you get into an accident:
A: Keep calm and take lots of pictures, especially if it’s not your fault.
Two: Get multiple estimates to get the best deals for getting your car fixed.
And three: Build relationships with both your insurance agent and a local auto-mechanic. Find someone you can trust.
“There are options out there, and you just have to find them. You have to take your time,” he said.
As for Tammy, she thinks it will take a few years before she can buy a new car.
“I don’t know, I’m just stuck with it,” she said.
The study we mentioned at the beginning of this story also found that 36,500 people died in accidents in 2019.
That’s why it hurts so much when paying – sometimes you just have to count your blessings.
