The world’s most dangerous roads by country

Pulitzer Center

A staggering 1.24 million people are killed on the world’s roads every year and the numbers are rising. If current trends continue there will be a three-fold increase to 3.6 million road deaths a year globally by 2030. A new interactive map by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting presents these sobering statistics in detail, revealing the countries with the most and least dangerous roads on Earth.

3.6 million road deaths a year globally by 2030

It’s the developing world that has been hardest hit by this road deaths epidemic. The World Health Organisation’s latest Global Burden of Disease study indicates that road accidents are on target to become the fifth biggest cause of death, overtaking diseases such as HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis.   

The data in the Pulitzer Center interactive map shows the average number of road deaths per 100,000 people in most of the world’s countries. The information reveals a huge disparity between different nations, with a clear dividing line between developed countries and those in the developing world.

The world's most dangerous roads 
 

Pulitzer Center

Canada, Japan, Australia and most western European nations all average below 10 road deaths per 100,000 people. The UK is among the very top performers with just 3.7 people killed on the roads per 100,000 while France has 6.4 deaths and Japan has an average of 5.2. Portugal is the only country in western Europe that breaks the 10 deaths per 100,000 people barrier with an average of 11.8, its performance is slightly worse than the 11.4 average in the US.

Sweden is the standard-bearer for reducing road deaths

Sweden is the standard-bearer for reducing the risk of death on its roads. Its rate of three road deaths per 100,000 people in 2010 is the lowest among industrialised nations. Australia is another good indicator of what can be achieved. Its total of over 30 deaths per 100,000 people in the 1970s made its roads some of the most dangerous on the planet. Today, stronger and more rigorously enforced safe-driving laws have brought an 80% decline in fatalities to 6.1 per 100,000.
 

AP

While investment in road infrastructure, driver training and law enforcement have helped minimise fatalities in some nations, shortcomings in these areas contribute to high road death figures elsewhere. Road death hot spots include Venezuela (37.2 deaths per 100,000), Iran (34.1), Nigeria (33.7) and Thailand (38.1).

The Dominican Republic has the most dangerous roads

The Dominican Republic has the most dangerous roads in the Americas with 41.7 deaths per 100,000 people. Fifty-eight per cent of those fatalities are riders of two- and three-wheeled vehicles and this high proportion of fatal accidents involving motorcycles is mirrored across the developing world.

The UK's most dangerous roads

AP

It’s no surprise that the different countries of the world have very different problems when it comes to road safety. India has an estimated 82 million motorbikes on its roads but manufacturer advertisements for these inexpensive vehicles rarely show riders wearing helmets and head protection is the exception rather than the rule on the country’s crowded roads.  
 

In Pakistan 90% of those killed in motorcycle accidents were not wearing helmets

In Vietnam road traffic is 95% motorcycles and there are strictly enforced helmet laws. However, the national quality standard for helmets is not enforced and 82% of all motorcycle crash helmets don’t meet minimum safety standards. In Pakistan 90% of the 12,000 people killed in motorcycle accidents in 2010 were not wearing helmets at all.
 

Reuters

In the Philippines, a country that has some of the safest roads in Asia with 9.1 deaths per 100,000, the anti-drunk driving law does not set a legal blood alcohol level. Instead, it’s up to the police to make a judgment at the roadside on whether a driver is fit to drive, a situation that critics say has opened the door to corruption. Brazil has a different drunk driving problem; every year the country sees a major spike in fatalities during the carnival season. It has strong drunk driving lawS but enforcement is not always a police priority.

Law enforcement is an issue in South Africa too. Seatbelts are mandatory for front and rear seat passengers in the country but the law is barely enforced. In Kenya, unregulated public transport is a bigger problem. Buses and privately owned minibuses are the vehicles most frequently involved in fatal crashes. They play a part in 38% of total road deaths.

One country that apparently has no road safety issues to speak of is North Korea. The reclusive communist state awarded itself perfect scores in every category of the World Health Organisation road safety compliance survey. The only other nation to do this was Uzbekistan.
 

World's most dangerous roads interactive map

The UK's most dangerous roads

The world's most dangerous roads 

The world's busiest roads

Roads used as racetracks

 

By Steve Walker, content editor, MSN Cars