American roadways are not the safest in the world, and they are statistically more dangerous than Europe’s roadways. Why is that the case, though, when the U.S. does have significant road rules and traffic regulations?
Per capita, traffic fatalities in the United States are the highest in the industrialized world. Other countries have different road designs and rules that could be a leading reason why they’re much safer than in the United States. Studying what goes wrong in the U.S. is long overdue, and it’s necessary to show why so many people are getting into painful or fatal crashes.
Researchers at the University of Connecticut didn’t notice anything surprising about the uptick in traffic fatalities in recent years. They believe that the number of injuries and fatalities is tightly correlated to gas prices. As the prices fall, more people spend more time on the roads. This means that a greater number of people are at risk of falling victim to traffic accidents.
Studies have shown that American drivers are not any more likely to be distracted on the roads than those in other countries, but the largest issue seems to be the roadways in the United States. The U.S. roadways don’t favor the most at-risk riders, like motorcyclists or bicyclists, and the U.S. doesn’t have a litany of laws protecting those vulnerable people in every state.
There’s little chance that the roads will change tomorrow or soon after, so it’s necessary for drivers to be as safe as they can be on the roads they have access to. Be aware of your surroundings, slow down and know what to do if you get into a crash.
Source: Vox, “Why America’s roads are so much more dangerous than Europe’s,” accessed April 03, 2018
