Did you read the article? It picks out specific differences, like the rate of seat belt usage -- higher in other countries than in the US, even though self belt

Did you read the article? It picks out specific differences, like the rate of seat belt usage -- higher in other countries than in the US, even though self belts are mandatory just about everywhere. "The US has laxer laws and doesn't enforce them as strictly" is a very simple explanation that fits the data well. It matches what I personally have seen in the US and UK, though of course that's just anecdotal. I'm not sure if the US is ahead of the curve at all in safety tech -- things like ABS and airbags, right? The US is definitely behind the curve in adoption of traffic circles / roundabouts rather than 4-way stops. You're correct that there could be some other reason why the US could have a higher "baseline" rate of traffic accidents; but what could that reason be? Any suggestions? Possibly the US has a higher proportion of young drivers?