We know that the human cost of a car crash which claims someone’s life is incalculable. But in addition to the emotional burden of these tragic events, fatal car crashes also have frankly staggering financial burdens, too. According to a landmark new study by AAA, fatal car crashes cost an average of $6 million each.

In a front-page feature, USA Today reports that AAA’s study analyzed 2009 data on car crash costs from in 99 urban areas, and concluded that those costs reached a whopping 299.5 billion dollars. So on top of the hundreds killed and thousands injured, just one year of car crashes in fewer than 100 U.S. cities cost more than Colombia’s 2010 GDP. That’s appalling.

Car crash costs have risen sharply since 2005, when AAA last did a comparable study. Then, AAA estimated an injury-only crash had a price tag of $68,170 while a fatal crash cost $3.24 million. The 2009 data shows that an injury-only crash now costs six figures – $126,000. According to USA Today, AAA examined Federal Highway Administration data with dollar values assigned to eleven components: property damage; lost earnings; loss of household activities; medical costs; emergency services; travel delays; vocational rehabilitation; lost time at work; administrative costs; legal costs; and pain and lost quality of life. And those components are expensive. “Nationally, the number of fatalities and injuries continues to decrease, but the overall cost of crashes has increased dramatically and reflects the significant rise in costs of the components associated with these types of crashes,” explains AAA Mid-Atlantic in a press release on the study. In the D.C. metro area, for example, crash costs increased by $145 billion from 2005 to 2009.

AAA’s study estimates that the $300 billion national price tag for fatal car crashes works out to about $1,522 per person in the U.S. But what portion of the cost is actually borne by employers? At least three of the components factored in to reach $300bn directly impact employers and all of them likely have an indirect impact, as well. A 2001 NHTSA report calculated that each on-the-job crash involving an injury cost employers over $128,000 – and that figure jumps to $3.8 million if someone was killed in the on-the-job crash. And given AAA”s estimates of the rising cost of crashes for society in general – it’s reasonable to assume that employers’ costs are also rising.

Given the huge financial burden of car crashes for employers, it’s also reasonable to assume they should do everything they can to protect employees and their bottom lines by preventing on-the-job crashes. And one simple yet effective way to reduce crash risk? Prevent on-the-job distracted driving.