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The countries with the most car accident deaths

The countries with the most car accident deaths
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Car Accident

Despite the comfort and convenience of traveling by car, it’s one of the more dangerous commonplace activities. According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel, nearly 1.3 million people die in car crashes globally every year, making it the ninth-leading cause of death.

The vast majority (90 percent) of fatal car accidents occur in low- to middle-income countries, as illustrated by the visualization below. But getting to the root of the problem isn’t as simple as imposing lower speed limits, for example. The data shows no correlation between max speed limit and fatality rate. It’s possible that the increased fatalities in these countries are due to poor infrastructure and more dangerous cars. In fact, the deadliest country for drivers actually has one of the lowest urban speed limits.

One contributing factor to high fatality driving rates may be seat belt use, or lack thereof, in lower income countries. Some countries don’t require back-seat passengers to wear seat belts. And, even in many countries that do, compliance and regulation may fall short. Additionally, drunk driving poses a huge threat. Studies suggest that lowering legal BAC limits greatly reduces highway fatalities. Lowering it from .08 percent to .05 percent can decrease car accident deaths anywhere from eight to 18 percent.

The experts at HealthGrove used data from the World Health Organization to examine car accident fatality rates around the world. Starting with countries that had more than 500 car accident deaths in 2010 (most recently available data), we looked at car accident fatality rate per 100,000 people, legal BAC limits, and the maximum urban and rural speed limits. If data was unavailable for any of these categories, it is not listed. The 42 most dangerous countries for car users are listed.

#42. Laos

Car Accident Death Rate: 20.4 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 1,266
Max Urban Speed Limit: 25mph (40km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)

#41. China

Car Accident Death Rate: 20.5 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 275,983
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 44mph (70km/h)

#40. Ivory Coast

Car Accident Death Rate: 20.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 4,121
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 68mph (110km/h)

#39. Kenya

Kenya Traffic

Car Accident Death Rate: 20.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 8,484
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 62mph (100km/h)

#38. Democratic Republic of the Congo

Car Accident Death Rate: 20.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 13,764
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 56mph (90km/h)

#37. Burundi

Burundi

Car Accident Death Rate: 21.3 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 1,788

#36. Paraguay

Car Accident Death Rate: 21.4 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 1,383
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 68mph (110km/h)

#35. Uruguay

Car Accident Death Rate: 21.5 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 723
Max Urban Speed Limit: 28mph (45km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 56mph (90km/h)

#34. El Salvador

Car Accident Death Rate: 21.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 1,358

#33. Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Car Accident Death Rate: 21.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 3,514
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 68mph (110km/h)

#32. Ghana

Car Accident Death Rate: 22.2 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 5,407
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)

#31. Lebanon

Car Accident Death Rate: 22.3 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 942
Max Urban Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)

#30. Brazil

Car Accident Death Rate: 22.5 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 43,869

#29. Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Car Accident Death Rate: 22.6 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 1,323
Max Urban Speed Limit: 25mph (40km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)

#28. United Republic Of Tanzania

Car Accident Death Rate: 22.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 10,162

#27. Jordan

Car Accident Death Rate: 22.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 1,414
Max Urban Speed Limit: 56mph (90km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 44mph (70km/h)

#26. Syrian Arab Republic

Car Accident Death Rate: 22.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 4,669
Max Urban Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)

#25. Mali

Car Accident Death Rate: 23.1 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 3,544
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)

#24. Angola

Car Accident Death Rate: 23.1 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 4,407
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)

#23. Niger

Niger

Car Accident Death Rate: 23.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 3,673
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)

#22. Yemen

Yemen

Car Accident Death Rate: 23.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 5,698

#21. Zambia

Car Accident Death Rate: 23.8 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 3,117
Max Urban Speed Limit: 40mph (65km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)

#20. Benin

Car Accident Death Rate: 23.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 2,119
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)

#19. Vietnam

Car Accident Death Rate: 24.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 21,651

#18. Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Night

Car Accident Death Rate: 24.8 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 6,800

#17. Namibia

Car Accident Death Rate: 25 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 571
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 62mph (100km/h)

#16. Malaysia

Car Accident Death Rate: 25 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 7,085
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 56mph (90km/h)

#15. Sudan

Khartoum, Sudan

Car Accident Death Rate: 25.1 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 10,935
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 19mph (30km/h)

#14. Ecuador

Car Accident Death Rate: 27 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 3,911
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 56mph (90km/h)

#13. Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso

Car Accident Death Rate: 27.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 4,566

#12. Mauritania

Mauritania

Car Accident Death Rate: 28 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 970
Max Urban Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)

#11. Lesotho

Car Accident Death Rate: 28.4 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 616
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)

#10. Uganda

Car Accident Death Rate: 28.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 9,655
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)

#9. Chad

Chad

Car Accident Death Rate: 29.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 3,339

#8. Oman

Car Accident Death Rate: 30.4 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 845
Max Urban Speed Limit: 62mph (100km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)

#7. Iraq

Car Accident Death Rate: 31.5 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 9,962

#6. South Africa

Car Accident Death Rate: 31.9 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 15,995
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 62mph (100km/h)

#5. Nigeria

Car Accident Death Rate: 33.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 53,339
Max Urban Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 31mph (50km/h)

#4. Islamic Republic of Iran

Car Accident Death Rate: 34.1 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 25,224
Max Urban Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 47mph (75km/h)

#3. Bolivarian Republic Of Venezuela

Car Accident Death Rate: 37.2 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 10,791
Max Urban Speed Limit: 25mph (40km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 10mph (15km/h)

#2. Thailand

Car Accident Death Rate: 38.1 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 26,312
Max Urban Speed Limit: 50mph (80km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 56mph (90km/h)

#1. Dominican Republic

Car Accident Death Rate: 41.7 per 100,000 people
Total Car Accident Deaths: 4,143
Max Urban Speed Limit: 22mph (35km/h)
Max Rural Speed Limit: 37mph (60km/h)

Research Conditions on HealthGrove