Which countries have the most dangerous and safest roads in the world? After several months of research and analyzing a large amount of data, the Finn company —dedicated to the subscription car service (rental)—, obtained surprising results, in some cases such as in the United States. In others not so much.
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Colombia ranked fifth among the countries where there are greater chances of dying, this, based on the figures of road deaths per hundred thousand inhabitants. The top of countries with the most lethal roads is led by Saudi Arabia, followed by Thailand, Malaysia and Kuwait.
Luis Lizarazo / Archive EL TIEMPO
In this ranking, from sixth to tenth place, there are four Latin American countries and one Asian country: Chile, Argentina (which is also listed as the third most dangerous country to drive), Panama, Mexico and Kazakhstan.
On the other shore, among the countries with the lowest risk on roads, the first is Iceland, followed by Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Japan, Denmark, Germany and Finland.
Where does the data come from?
This is just one of the checks carried out by Finn in this report, whose objective is to establish the characteristics of the safest countries to drive.
For this, data such as accident rate, road conditions, volume of traffic, use of safety belts and helmets, in the case of motorcyclists. In addition, accidents attributed to alcohol consumption, maximum speeds allowed in the city and on the highway, and road safety.
Finn analyzed this information and to do so selected a list of countries from the member states of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and nations with a Human Development Index (HDI) –measurement between 0 and 1– greater than 0.8.
Statistics on road deaths per 100,000 people those obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO); the road quality score, from The Global Economy; the level of traffic was obtained from Numbeo, a database of public origin that measures consumption and quality of life metrics. Rates of seat belt use and alcohol-related road deaths were purchased from WHO.
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Mauricio Moreno. TIME
By averaging the scores from each of these items, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Estonia and Spain got the top five ratings as the safest countries to drive. Colombia does not appear in the first 30 places, and the only South American is Chile.
But neither is the United States, which appears in second place as the country with the most dangerous cavities after Argentina. The third is Greece.
At this point, Finn emphasizes that when you buy a car or get one by subscription, which is the service they provide, one of the concerns of users is to know how safe it is to drive in a country; however, something that is out of control is the safety of the roads on which they will travel.
Road safety levels, Finn says, “differ greatly around the world due to factors such as driver quality and training, road quality, laws and speed limits.” These are precisely the reasons why countries like the United States obtained this result, despite the good condition of their road network. There is even already a high concern there due to the very high accident rate.
And, for example, There are countries that appear with roads in very good condition in terms of road safety, but alcohol levels while driving are higheither they have very young and inexperienced drivers, or many drivers do not wear seat belts.
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In that order of ideas, the rating of our country is not surprising, but the alerts could be on. Official figures report that Last year in Colombia there were 41,147 road accidents in which 8,358 people were injured and 49,396 were injured.which represented an increase of 6.8 percent in fatalities (7,828) and 37 percent in accidents (36,027), compared to 2021.
And everything indicates that the situation is not going to improve this year, on the contrary, the result in the end could be worse. According to the Road Safety Observatory, during the first half of 2023 there were 4,029 people, 246 more than in the same period of 2022.
The safest to drive
Iceland
It has an indicator of 2.05 road deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. Despite poor weather conditions and many unpaved roads, Icelandic drivers are some of the least likely to be killed in a road accident. The country is quite the tourist draw, so many popular roads around the ‘golden circle’ and Reykjavik are paved and in good condition compared to the sparsely populated center of the country, which is connected by a network of gravel roads.
Norway
It registers 2.12 deaths on the road for every 100,000 inhabitants. It has similar road problems to Iceland, mostly due to harsh winter weather conditions. Despite this, Norway’s roads also have the fewest reported deaths. The lessons and the driving tests Scandinavians are notoriously comprehensive and speeding fines are high, resulting in safer roads.
Swiss
It has the third fewest road fatalities per 100,000 people. Swiss driving laws are strictly enforced and there is little tolerance for speeding and reckless driving. This no-nonsense attitude may have contributed to the low mortality rate. As a country situated in and around the Alps, Swiss roads are known for spectacular views from winding mountain passes.
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Where is the greatest mortality?
Saudi Arabia
With 35.94 road deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, 27 more than the world average of 8.57, it ranks first. Its large oil reserves make gasoline prices very low. As a result, more people can afford to drive fast supercarswhich may be less safe than ordinary cars due to factors such as poor visibility.
thailand
Thailand has the second deadliest roads in the world, with 32 deaths per 100,000 people. Many Thais ride motorcycles rather than drive cars, and it is common for many people to ride together on a single motorcycle. This, combined with the little use of helmetsit can result in a higher chance of fatalities on the road.
Malaysia
Malaysia has the third highest number of road deaths per 100,000 people, at 22.48 per 100,000 people. Despite this record, there is a substantial difference between Malaysia and Thailand, it is the third Asian country with the most dangerous roads, but half of the top ten are in mainland Asia.
The three with the safest routes
Netherlands
It obtained a road safety score of 7.86/10. The quality of its roads was higher than any other nation studied, with a score of 6.4. It also has one of the highest percentages of riders wearing seat belts and also the lowest traffic levels. The Netherlands is the country with the highest proportion of cyclists in the world, with one bicycle per person.. As a result of the country’s famous cycling culture, there are fewer drivers on the road.
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Norway
Road safety score of 7.47/10. The Nordic country has the second lowest number of road deaths per 100,000 inhabitants and It also has the second lowest motorway speed limit at just 110 km/h.. Given that freezing temperatures (particularly in the north of the country) can make for treacherous conditions on Norwegian roads, the country’s high safety score is an even greater achievement.
Sweden and Estonia
Sweden and Estonia are separated by just 153km from the Baltic Sea at their shortest point, and are equally close on this list, both scoring 7.42/10 and sharing third place. However, the two countries excelled in different aspects of the security. Sweden had very few road deaths and a high percentage of seat belt use, while Estonia had low traffic and a low percentage of alcohol-attributed road deaths.
Those with the most dangerous
Argentina
Road safety score of 1.65/10. Many factors contributed to this low score, such as low seat belt use of just 43.6 percent. Furthermore, the score of road quality was 3.6 and the level of traffic was 175.
USA
Road safety score of 2.53/10. It’s surprising, but 29 percent of all traffic deaths there are attributed to alcohol and its high speed limits. Unlike many countries in the world, American drivers can drive in their mid-teens. Lack of driving experience is perceived as more dangerous on the roads, this could be another factor.
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Greece
Road safety score of 3.85/10. Although it doesn’t perform terribly in any aspect of road safety, Greece scores poorly on a number of factors. Only 72 percent of Greeks wear seat belts and there are 8.31 road deaths per 100,000 people, making it third in the ranking of the most dangerous roads.
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