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> I'm not aware of any other developed country with a comparable culture of neglect In terms of road fatalities per vehicle-mile traveled[0],the US is on par w

> I'm not aware of any other developed country with a comparable culture of neglect In terms of road fatalities per vehicle-mile traveled[0],the US is on par with other developed nations like Belgium and New Zealand, fares substantially better than Korea or the Czech Republic, and is substantially worse than Norway or Switzerland. But you have to remember that driving is a much more fundamentally required part of life in much of the US than it is in many of those other countries. The culture of neglect comes from (among other things) the fact that if you make getting a driver's license too hard, or losing one too easy, you effectively cut off someone's livelihood. [0]: https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/irtad-road-safety-annual-report-2018_2.pdf https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/irtad-road...

woodruffw 3y ago
Fatalities per vehicle-mile is the only favorable metric here, which makes intuitive sense: the US is a big empty country with a lot of rural highways. If you look at fatalities per capita or by net car ownership, the numbers are much less rosy[1]. By those metrics, the US mostly peers with SE Asia and the Middle East. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate#List https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...
- gottorf 3y ago
  > If you look at fatalities per capita or by net car ownership Curiously, by that metric, the US lies between Singapore and Hong Kong. Which is strange, since car ownership is rare in both those countries and neither are really known to be hotbeds of reckless driving.
  - woodruffw 3y ago
    I think Hong Kong does have a reputation for unsafe roads, it just doesn't make it to us[1]. But Singapore is a surprise to me. (That's for net car ownership. For per capita, the US's immediate peers are Bangladesh, Uruguay, Egypt, and Moldova.) [1]: https://hongkongfp.com/2022/08/25/hong-kong-pedestrians-are-most-at-risk-from-car-crashes-on-wan-chai-road-advocacy-group-finds/ https://hongkongfp.com/2022/08/25/hong-kong-pedestrians-are-...

woodruffw 3y ago

Fatalities per vehicle-mile is the only favorable metric here, which makes intuitive sense: the US is a big empty country with a lot of rural highways. If you look at fatalities per capita or by net car ownership, the numbers are much less rosy[1]. By those metrics, the US mostly peers with SE Asia and the Middle East. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate#List https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...

gottorf 3y ago
> If you look at fatalities per capita or by net car ownership Curiously, by that metric, the US lies between Singapore and Hong Kong. Which is strange, since car ownership is rare in both those countries and neither are really known to be hotbeds of reckless driving.
- woodruffw 3y ago
  I think Hong Kong does have a reputation for unsafe roads, it just doesn't make it to us[1]. But Singapore is a surprise to me. (That's for net car ownership. For per capita, the US's immediate peers are Bangladesh, Uruguay, Egypt, and Moldova.) [1]: https://hongkongfp.com/2022/08/25/hong-kong-pedestrians-are-most-at-risk-from-car-crashes-on-wan-chai-road-advocacy-group-finds/ https://hongkongfp.com/2022/08/25/hong-kong-pedestrians-are-...