This factor of 5 difference in 3rd world countries might actually be explained by Smeed's Curve: "In 1947 Ruben Smeed, the founding father of transport studies

This factor of 5 difference in 3rd world countries might actually be explained by Smeed's Curve: "In 1947 Ruben Smeed, the founding father of transport studies in Britain, discovered an intriguing statistical relationship [for 20 countries] between the number of cars per person, and the road accident fatality rate per car. The data revealed that as numbers of cars increased, the death rate per car plummeted. "The Smeed Curve might be considered a societal learning curve. As one encounters more cars people, literally, learn how to live with them. Another part of the explanation might be found in contemplation of other societal changes that accompany rising car ownership. Car ownership correlates highly with measures of affluence. Death rates per car decrease as affluence increases. "When cars are few in number most fatalities are vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists). As vehicle numbers increase the vulnerable retreat." http://john-adams.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/shared%20space.pdf http://john-adams.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/shared%20...