Norway has been crowned the safest country in which to drive for the fourth consecutive year, followed closely by Iceland and Japan. The countries boast high seatbelt use, low traffic fatality rates and strict road safety enforcement.
While the country’s maximum motorway speed limit of 120km/h is comparable to that of safer countries such as Norway's 110km/h, seatbelt use is alarmingly low. Only 31% of front seat passengers in South Africa are estimated to wear a seatbelt, in stark contrast to 97.8% in Norway.
South Africa has been ranked the most dangerous country in the world in which to drive, according to a new report by online driver education platform Zutobi.
The annual analysis looked at factors including road traffic deaths, alcohol-related fatalities, seatbelt use and national speed limits.
The report revealed South Africa has an estimated 24.5 road traffic deaths per 100,000 people, one of the highest rates globally.
Zutobi flagged poor seatbelt compliance and a high rate of drunk driving as key contributors to our deadly roads.
“The risk of a drunk driving-related fatality is highest in South Africa. It has the highest amount of alcohol-related road traffic deaths at 57.5%,” Zutobi said.
Globally the average number of estimated road traffic deaths per 100,000 people has decreased from 8.9 to 6.3, but South Africa and Thailand, which also recorded 25.4 road traffic deaths per 100,000, remain among the countries with the highest fatality rates.
Some countries have made progress, such as Malaysia, which saw a sharp drop in traffic deaths from 22.5 to 13.9 per 100,000 people. Zutobi attributed this in part to cultural attitudes and strict enforcement, noting Malaysia also has the lowest rate of alcohol-related traffic deaths at only 0.1%.
Bolivia has the lowest maximum motorway speed limit at 80km/h and the lowest estimated seatbelt use at 3.5%.
TimesLIVE
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