They've used twisted metal and broken windshields to make their point.

They've staged mock accidents, with all the trimmings to imitate injury and death.

They've tried tugging at the heartstrings, hoping drivers will understand how a moment of carelessness can affect so many.

Yet, no matter how many demonstrations safety advocates give, people still drive too fast. They still cut each other off. They crash. They roll. They injure and kill.

So the safety experts can try another way to get their message across:

Money, as in $31.5 million and whatever shock value the figure might bring.

That is how much the county's motor vehicle accidents in 1996-97 cost, translated into Year 2000 dollars, a survey showed. In essence, bad driving became a $31.5 million industry in Stanislaus County.

"If people don't adhere to the safety measures, maybe they'll notice the out-of-pocket dollars," said Tom Killian, a California Highway Patrol officer who teaches driver safety.

In a recent report, the Stanislaus County Safe Communities Coalition broke down the costs by age group and type of accident.

It's information Killian and officers from other agencies can use when they talk safety at schools, clubs and other groups.

The dollar amount represents virtually every cost associated with a traffic accident in which someone is killed or injured, said Heather Gruenig Duvall of the county's Health Services Agency. Health Services is the coalition's lead agency.

"It includes medical expenses from injuries," she said. "It includes funeral expenses, lost time from work, rehabilitation costs and resource costs to the police and fire departments. It includes increased insurance premiums, disability payments, paperwork and administrative overhead."

The numbers are broken down by age groups. They also are categorized by what people were doing when they were killed or injured, such as being in a vehicle, on a motorcycle, a peda-cycle or afoot.

People injured or killed while inside vehicles accounted for about $22 million of the $31.5 million total.

And the report includes some interesting numbers based on age:

Drivers in the 21-to-44 age group accounted for $17.2 million -- nearly 55 percent of the money related to serious accidents.

"We're seeing increases in the county's population and the number of commuters driving over the hill to work every day," Gruenig Duvall said.

With at least 20 years to go before retirement, they often require rehabilitation and lose wages because of accidents. The group averaged more than $75,000 per person injured, according to the study.

The 20-and-under crowd was next at roughly $5.5 million, even though recent restrictions on new drivers were intended to cut down on accidents. Instead, teen drunken driving is rising, according to authorities. The costs would have been higher in that age group, Gruenig Duvall said, except that many young drivers don't work and don't lose income because of accidents.

Accidents and dollars declined for the two remaining groups: 45 to 64 and 65 and over.

The 65-and-over crowd was involved in just 65 accidents, generating $3.9 million in costs. But because many drivers over 65 are retired, they didn't lose income.

The bottom line, Gruenig Duvall said, is preventing accidents and saving lives. And if the coalition can use the bottom line to do that, so be it.

"Obviously, it's a human life issue," she said. "But we can use the numbers to paint a picture of how costly it can be."

The Stanislaus Safe Communities Coalition's report "Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention Strategic Plan" is available to the public. For more information, contact Heather Gruenig Duvall at 558-7168.

Bee staff writer Jeff Jardine can be reached at 578-2383 or jjardine@modbee.com.

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Reprinted by permission of the Modesto Bee.