DURBAN - South Africa is the most dangerous country to drive in, a new study on The World’s Safest Roads by Zutobi has revealed.
Each country was analysed based on five factors and were given a normalised score out of 10 for each factor, with the average score being calculated across all five factors.
The factors include the number of alcohol-related road traffic deaths, estimated road traffic death rate, rate of wearing a seat belt, maximum motorway speed limit and the blood alcohol concentration limit for drivers.
SA was revealed as the most dangerous country to drive in based on the combination of factors.
“The most dangerous country to drive in is South Africa, which has by far the lowest safety driving score of just 3.41/10. There are an estimated 22.2 road traffic deaths per 100 000 of the population in South Africa and only 31% of front-seat passengers in South Africa are estimated to wear a seat belt,” it said.
The rate of alcohol-related road traffic deaths in South Africa was the highest.
“South Africa has the highest amount of alcohol-related road traffic deaths, at 57.5%,” it said.
Thailand ranked second with a score of 4.35 out of 10.
“This is due to Thailand having one of the lowest seat belt wearing rates, and possibly the fact that the primary mode of transport used in the country is motorbikes.”
The US ranked third, with a driving safety score of 5.03 out of 10.
“This is due to 29% of road traffic deaths in the US being attributed to alcohol, which is consistent with its high limit for blood alcohol concentration for drivers (0.08%),” it said.
The study found that India’s road traffic death rate increased by more than 50%, from 15.6 last year to 22.6 per 100 000 people this year.
The safest countries for driving is Norway, in first position, closely followed by Iceland then Estonia.
The study also found that:
- Iceland has the least amount of road traffic-related deaths per 100 000 people. There are an estimated two road traffic deaths per 100 000 and the number has been declining since 2019.
- Ranking eighth overall, Bolivia is the country with the lowest maximum motorway speed limit for cars. The national speed limit is 80km/h.
- Bolivia is estimated to have the lowest rate of front seat-belt usage in the world, at just 3.5%. There is no national law requiring the use of seat-belts in the country and very few people report wearing one.
- Malaysia has the lowest amount of alcohol related road traffic deaths, at just 0.1%. While the majority of Malaysia’s population is Muslim, the sale of alcohol to non-Muslims is permitted, and the BAC limit for drivers is 0.08%.
- Czechia, France, Germany and Japan are estimated to have the highest rate of front seat-belt usage in the world, at 98%.
Click here for the full research with a breakdown of the methodology.
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