Transports Some US states have similar road fatality rates to African countries

Maciamo

Maciamo

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I have created maps of traffic-related deaths per 100,000 inhabitants for the Unites States and Europe. When looking at the statistics per country from Wikipedia, I noticed that the US states with the worst road fatality rates were way above anything observed in other developed countries and were in fact much more similar to the average of African countries. Mississippi is the highest road fatality rate, with 26.2 deaths per 100,000 people. The average for Africa is 27.2. The average for Europe (not the EU but all Europe with the Balkans, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia) is 7.4. In Western Europe the average is about 3.5 deaths per 100,000 people, 7 times less than Mississippi and nearly 4 times less than the U.S. average of 12.9 deaths per 100,000 people. The US average is actually just between Pakistan and Mexico. In Europe only Bosnia does slightly worse (13.5) than the United States, and Bosnia is a mountainous country with horrible roads. The road fatality rate in Mississippi is similar to that of Angola and Sudan! Even a northern state with very low population density like Montana ranks alongside countries like Nigeria, Bolivia, Algeria, Libya, or Iran. The safest US states for driving are Rhode Island (5.7) and New York (5.8) still do worse than Poland (5.0) and about the same as Cyprus (5.9).

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There are many reasons for the higher traffic death rate in the US. I have mentioned a few in the thread The problem with North American cities.
  • Lack of roundabouts. Accidents at intersection have a much higher fatality rate.
  • Oversized cars/pickup trucks, which are in fact more dangerous for the drivers of these cars and for other cars as well as for pedestrians.
  • Lower car safety standards than in other developed countries (because of lobbying from the US car manufacturers, notably for pickup trucks).
  • 'Stroads', which are dangerous for pedestrians and bicycles.
  • Lack of protected bicycle lanes in cities.
But the main reasons overall are driver behaviour such as speeding, drunk driving, and distracted driving (e.g. checking once phone while driving).
 
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I have asked at chatGPT what are the main causes of road deaths in the US.

The main causes of fatal road accidents in the U.S., along with their estimated contributions, include:
  1. Speeding: Accounts for around 29% of fatal crashes, translating to approximately 12,151 deaths annually.
  2. Drunk Driving: Responsible for 13,524 deaths in 2022, or about 31% of all traffic fatalities.
  3. Distracted Driving: Contributes to about 9% of fatal crashes, leading to approximately 3,308 deaths annually.
  4. Not Wearing Seatbelts: Roughly 50% of people killed in crashes were unrestrained.
So the reasons for the high road fatality rates are not just the infrastructure and pick-up trucks, but also the attitude of the drivers. According to chat GPT 9% of Americans often drive without wearing their seatbelt. In France it's only 0.5%, about 2% in Germany and Scandinavia, and 3% in the UK — substantially less than in the USA.


Chat GPT also says that "the road fatality rate is significantly higher among teen drivers in the U.S. compared to older age groups. Teens aged 16–19 are nearly three times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes per mile driven compared to drivers aged 20 and older. Among teens, those aged 16–17 face the highest risk. Contributing factors include inexperience, speeding, low seatbelt usage, and a higher likelihood of distraction or risky behaviors, such as texting or driving under the influence.

Additionally, while teens represent a small percentage of drivers, they are involved in a disproportionate number of crashes. For instance, 11% of fatal crashes among drivers under 20 involve distraction, a higher proportion than any other age group."

They are also more teen drivers in the US than in Europe as the driving age is lower in America. Teenagers in South Dakota can get their driver's licence at 14 years old! In Europe almost nobody drives before 18 years old. Even though European teenagers also have higher road fatality rate than older adults, it is substantially lower than in the US.
 
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I was wondering where drunk driving caused the most road fatalities in the US.

Here are the drunk driving fatality rates (per 100,000 residents) for all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., based on the most recent data available:

1. Wyoming: 8.56
2. South Carolina: 7.99
3. Montana: 7.80
4. New Mexico: 7.50
5. Texas: 7.42
6. Alabama: 6.90
7. Mississippi: 6.55
8. South Dakota: 6.56
9. Louisiana: 6.41
10. Arkansas: 6.13
11. Arizona: 6.02
12. Missouri: 5.70
13. Nevada: 5.65
14. Oklahoma: 5.45
15. Kentucky: 5.44
16. Georgia: 5.40
17. Florida: 5.32
18. Tennessee: 5.15
19. North Dakota: 5.02
20. Kansas: 4.99
21. Alaska: 4.98
22. West Virginia: 4.90
23. Indiana: 4.75
24. Delaware: 4.50
25. Michigan: 4.45
26. Colorado: 4.42
27. Wisconsin: 4.38
28. Pennsylvania: 4.32
29. Oregon: 4.20
30. Virginia: 4.15
31. Washington: 4.10
32. North Carolina: 4.05
33. Minnesota: 3.90
34. Ohio: 3.85
35. Iowa: 3.75
36. Vermont: 3.60
37. Idaho: 3.50
38. Maine: 3.40
39. Connecticut: 3.25
40. Hawaii: 3.20
41. Illinois: 3.15
42. New Hampshire: 3.10
43. Massachusetts: 2.90
44. Utah: 2.85
45. Rhode Island: 2.70
46. New Jersey: 2.55
47. Maryland: 2.50
48. New York: 2.45
49. Nebraska: 2.40
50. California: 2.35
51. Washington, D.C.: 1.95

What's interesting and alarming at the same time is that at least 35 states have drunk driving fatality rates that are higher than the total road fatality rate in Western Europe! So driving under the influence is definitely very big problem in the States, especially in rural areas. That's interesting because the total alcohol consumption per capita in America is lower than in most European countries. The US ranks 37th worldwide for alcohol consumption. In other words Europeans drink more but also more responsibly and are much less likely to drink and drive. It could also be because it is more common in Europe to have a designated driver (who stays sober) when going out to drink or going to a party.
 
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Here’s a ranked list of U.S. states and Washington, D.C., by speeding-related fatality rates per 100,000 residents, based on recent data:
  1. Montana: 7.5
  2. South Carolina: 6.7
  3. Wyoming: 6.5
  4. New Hampshire: 5.8
  5. Mississippi: 5.7
  6. Alabama: 5.6
  7. New Mexico: 5.4
  8. Arkansas: 5.2
  9. Kentucky: 5.1
  10. Nevada: 4.9
  11. West Virginia: 4.8
  12. Arizona: 4.7
  13. Texas: 4.5
  14. Georgia: 4.4
  15. Oklahoma: 4.3
  16. Missouri: 4.2
  17. Tennessee: 4.0
  18. Louisiana: 3.9
  19. Florida: 3.8
  20. North Carolina: 3.7
  21. Alaska: 3.6
  22. Pennsylvania: 3.5
  23. Oregon: 3.4
  24. Indiana: 3.3
  25. Wisconsin: 3.2
  26. Colorado: 3.1
  27. Utah: 3.0
  28. Kansas: 2.9
  29. Idaho: 2.8
  30. Michigan: 2.7
  31. Nebraska: 2.6
  32. Minnesota: 2.5
  33. Virginia: 2.4
  34. Illinois: 2.3
  35. Iowa: 2.2
  36. Washington: 2.1
  37. New York: 2.0
  38. Connecticut: 1.9
  39. Hawaii: 1.8
  40. Massachusetts: 1.7
  41. Maine: 1.6
  42. Rhode Island: 1.5
  43. Vermont: 1.4
  44. North Dakota: 1.3
  45. South Dakota: 1.2
  46. Ohio: 1.1
  47. Maryland: 1.0
  48. New Jersey: 0.9
  49. Delaware: 0.8
  50. California: 0.7
  51. Washington, D.C.: 0.6

This data highlights how rural areas with less enforcement or higher-speed limits, such as South Carolina and Montana, have higher rates, while densely populated regions like D.C. and Rhode Island have lower rates.

Note that New Hampshire is the only state which does not require drivers (and passengers) to wear their seatbelts. The contrast in speeding fatality rates with neighbouring Vermont and Maine is stunning. It's four times higher in New Hampshire! And Maine has a higher speed limit than New Hampshire. This shows how wearing a seatbelt can really reduce the fatality rate in case of accident at higher speed.
 
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It's looks like the quality of roads and infrastructure it's not a major determinant in road fatalities in the United States.

California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have some of the worst road and infrastructure quality in the country and yet have relatively low road fatality rates. In contrast states like Wyoming, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama have very good roads and infrastructure but very high road fatality rates.

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