Road safety: international comparisons

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Abstract
It is difficult to compare the safety records of different countries because of differences in reporting accidents, population sizes and numbers of vehicles. Smeed's formula for predicting the expected number of road deaths in a country from the size of the population and the number of motor vehicles is critically evaluated. The difference between the number of deaths expected from the formula and the actual number of deaths in different countries (which does not seem to depend on the degree of motorization) is recommended for international comparisons. Some effects of legislation, propaganda, education and enforcement in various countries are reviewed. The road safety measures used in selected countries, with especially good or bad safety records, are compared. Countries with fewer road deaths than expected have lower speed limits and stricter laws to prevent driving after drinking than countries where there are more road deaths than expected. It is suggested that, if a country decides that the existing death rate on the roads is intolerable and is prepared to spend money and introduce and enforce legislation, then the road deaths can be reduced dramatically, as demonstrated by Japan.

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