There are countries that are more dangerous to drive and others that stand out for being the opposite, according to an updated ranking in this regard.
The person in charge of the measurement is the American company Zutobia specialist in road safety, who was helped by data from the World Health Organization (WHO).
It is also surprising that the country of origin of this analysis is in an extreme category. However, those who have lived and driven in that nation will surely understand the results.
But what does this ranking measure?: deaths by accident (per 100,000 inhabitants), speed limit on highways, rate of seat belt use, deaths from traffic accidents attributed to alcohol, blood alcohol concentration limit and other parameters that made countries like Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and others from Latin America also appear on the lists, not necessarily together.
Next, it is better to fasten your seat belts, to know which side you are on and if you follow the rules of the road that save lives. After all, it is about stopping practices that are harmful to both locals and strangers.
The most dangerous countries to drive
In the ranking (2022) of the most dangerous countries to drive, Zutobi awarded first place to South Africa.
It is not for less. The measurement determined that 22.2 people (per 100,000 inhabitants) die each year due to traffic accidents.
There are other indicators that place that territory in that nothing glorious first place. Barely 30% of drivers use a seat belt and 57.5% of road accidents, with fatalities, are due to alcohol.
In second place, Thailand
In this country, the use of seat belts rises to 40% of motorists and the number of deaths from road accidents is 32.2 per year. Although this is higher than the first place in this ranking, it must be taken into account that accidents with deaths due to alcohol consumption drop to 14.1% in contrast, which is why it does not rank first.
In the third position of the most dangerous to drive, is the United States
Their numbers are not minor: 12.7% of deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants, in road accidents, of which 29% are attributed to alcohol consumption. And it is that the alcohol limit is 0.08 grams of alcohol per liter of blood, one of the highest in relation to other world regulations.
Seat belt use is 90% of drivers, which becomes a positively remarkable fact.
The fourth place stayed in Latin America and is for Argentina
In the trans-Andean neighbor each year 14.1% people die in traffic accidents, for every 100 thousand inhabitants. 17% of road fatalities are attributed to alcohol consumption by drivers. The ranking indicates that 40.8% use a seat belt when driving.
And in fifth place, India
Fatal victims are 15.6% annually for every 100 thousand inhabitants. 4% of deaths in road mishaps are attributable to alcohol.
This Asian territory has a high restriction when it comes to grams of alcohol in blood: 0.03. However, seat belt use is only 7.3%.
The safest to drive and Chile
On the other side of the study, another 5 countries occupy the first places but for positive reasons in terms of safe driving, without consuming harmful substances when doing so and with the use of seat belts, which places them in a privileged category.
The first of these is Norway, where the percentage of deaths in traffic accidents, per 100,000 inhabitants, is 2.1% and 13% of deaths in road mishaps are attributed to alcohol consumption. 95.2% of drivers in that Scandinavian country use a seat belt and only 0.02 grams of alcohol in blood are allowed.
The second place of the safest nations to drive, is held by Iceland. There, 2% of deaths are recorded in road accidents, for every 100,000 inhabitants. 14% of fatalities are associated with alcohol intake and 93% of Icelanders use a seat belt to drive.
Third place goes to Estonia (Northern Europe). In this territory, for every 100,000 inhabitants, 4.5% die in car accidents. 10% of deaths are associated with alcohol consumption and the rate of seat belt use is 97.3%.
In a fourth place follows Japan. In this Asian nation, 3.6% of deaths are recorded per 100,000 inhabitants. Deaths from alcohol consumption in accidents is only 5.6% and the use of seat belts is 98%. A fact that is too far if we compare what happens in the most dangerous countries to drive.
In a fifth place was strengthened Moldavia. In this territory of Eastern Europe, 7.3% of deaths are recorded in car accidents, 9.4% of these are due to alcohol consumption, while 61.8% use a seat belt. The latter is low compared to the previous 4 nations, but the intake of intoxicating beverages is also low. Hence the results.
Chile, meanwhile, does not occupy space at the extremes like Argentina (among the most dangerous to drive). Here is the data that Zutobi collected.
is in the position Nº36 of this ranking, registering 14.9% of deaths in traffic accidents per 100 thousand inhabitants. 13% of these deaths are due to the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Seat belt use is 59%, a rate that should certainly improve for the benefit of motorists and others.
The prohibition in grams of alcohol in the blood is one of the least tolerant: 0.03. The speed limit is 120 kilometers per hour. Of the relatively low, as we can compare with the following nations.
The country that has no speed restriction when driving
When Germany it is, this European giant stands out for various reasons. The following data, however, forces us to make a stop along the way.
And it is that German drivers have no limit on driving speed, as confirmed by the ranking that concerns us today. Their numbers, however, are also notorious: 3.8% of deaths in traffic accidents per 100,000 inhabitants. 7% occur due to alcohol consumption. The level of grams of alcohol in blood allowed is 0.05.
As for his rate of seat belt use, which says a lot, it reaches 98%. One of the highest shown in the Zutobi measurement, validated with WHO data.
Although Germany is the only one in the ranking where drivers do not have a speed limit when traveling, there are other countries where it is high.
One of these is Poland, with a 140 km/h speed limit for driving. Other nations have a 130 kph cap, including: Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria, Lithuania, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Australia, France, Serbia, Slovenia, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Argentinain addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
But as we already mentioned the term “extremes”, in South America there is a neighbor of Chile that exemplifies that.
Bolivia, is the country with the lowest speed limit for driving. Motorists cannot exceed 80 kilometers per hour.
What is contradictory is that in this nation 21.1% of deaths occur per 100,000 inhabitants in traffic accidents. Deaths attributed to alcohol consumption are 6.4%, but the minimum use of the safety belt can provide an answer: only 3.5% of Bolivian drivers use it.
