Top 20 most dangerous places to be a driver
- Gareth Herincx
- @garethherincx
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New research has revealed that driving in the United States is more dangerous than Thailand, Bulgaria and Algeria, making it one of the most treacherous places to get behind the wheel.
Global Positioning Specialists (GPS), a B2B comparison site for fleet management solutions, investigated road quality, the number of road deaths and motor vehicle crime statistics in 60 of the most car-dependent countries around the world to reveal the most dangerous countries to be a driver.
Each country was assigned a score for each factor based on their national statistics, and the countries that had high road death and crime rates and low scores for the quality of their roads made it to the top of the list.
“What is interesting about our research is that it shows that even with investment into roads which you have in wealthier places like the US, driving can still be a risk thanks to crime or dangerous driving, which put lives at risk,” said Lucile Michaut of GPS.
20) Bulgaria
Bulgaria has a population of around 7.5 million people, but its ranking as the 20th most dangerous country to be a driver is almost entirely due to its poor roads. They ranked as the 10th worst.
19) Thailand
Despite ranking 19th overall, Thailand had the highest rate for road related deaths, equating to 36.2 deaths per 100,000 population, making it the most dangerous country for road traffic deaths. Thanks to much better results for vehicle crime and road condition, Thailand was only just in the Top 20. Here’s a typical Bangkok traffic jam…
18) Canada
Who would have thought it? Canada features in the Top 20 bad countries to be a driver because it’s the eighth worst place for vehicle crime with 207 thefts per 100,000 population. To put that into perspective, Italy at No 1 has 295 thefts per 100,000.
17) Czech Republic
Some low quality roads and fairly high vehicle crime catapult the Czech Republic into the world’s Top 20 most dangerous countries to be a driver. Skoda, the country’s top car maker, has just started production of its big new SUV, the Kodiaq – ideally suited to the roads…
16) Algeria
A combination of high scores for road traffic risk (fifth worst) and road quality (eighth worst) are responsible for the North African country’s Top 20 ranking. Here’s a scene from the Riadh el Feth district of the capital, Algiers.
15) Australia
You would have thought Australia might feature in the Top 20 because of its more challenging highways in the Outback, but it’s actually the seventh worst place for vehicle crime with 212 thefts per 100,000 people.
14) Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago’s high road traffic death risk (14.1 deaths per 100,000 population) and low quality roads are responsible for the country’s overall ranking as the 14th most dangerous place to be a driver. Here’;s a street scene from the capital, Port of Spain.
13) Latvia
The Baltic country of Latvia has a population of around two million people, but its ranking as the 13th most dangerous place to be a driver is mainly due to its poor road quality (it’s at No 9 with a score of 3.1/7) There’s also some extreme weather in Latvia, but it was no problem for Peugeot 208 WRX driver Sébastien Loeb, taking part in the FIA World Rallycross Championship.
12) United States
America has a road traffic death rate of 10.6 deaths per 100,000 population and the sixth highest vehicle theft rate, equating to 216 per 100,000 population. Considering the US is also a hot spot for car jacking, this makes owning a car even more dangerous. Here’s a traffic jam in downtown Chicago…
11) Peru
Peru has a relatively high vehicle crime rate, but it’s the quality of its roads and the subsequent death risk that drags it up the chart as the 11th most dangerous country in the world to be a driver, according to Global Positioning Specialists’ (GPS) research.
10) Russian Federation
Russia is the ninth most dangerous country to be a driver mainly because of the poor quality of its roads and the resultant death risk. Scoring 2.7/7 for road quality, it has the second worst roads. There are also some challenging weather conditions…
9) Italy
Italy’s roads are OK, but it’s the ninth most dangerous country to be a driver largely because it ranks just behind Uruguay (No 1) when it comes to vehicle thefts. In Italy there are 295 thefts per 100,000 population.
8) Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is the second-largest Caribbean nation by area (after Cuba) and third by population with more than 10 million people (around three million living in and around the capital, Santo Domingo pictured) With 47 deaths per 100,000 people, it has the second highest road traffic death risk.
7) Chile
There are 175 vehicle thefts per 100,000 people in Chile (the ninth worst in the world). This statistic, along with a higher than average road traffic death risk, propels the catapult the South American country up to No 7 overall. The tough terrain was no problem for this ALL4 Racing MINI during the 2015 Dakar Rally.
6) Guatemala
Guatemala in Central America has an estimated population of around 15.8 million. It’s the sixth most dangerous country to be a driver because its roads are poor and vehicle crime is fairly high.
5) Greece
There are 227 vehicle thefts per 100,000 people in Greece (the fifth worst in the world). This statistic, along with average scores for road quality and road traffic death risk, catapults the European holiday hotspot up to No 5 overall. Here’s a taxi driver navigating through the traffic in central Athens…
4) Costa Rica
Costa Rica has a population of 4.5 million, most of whom live in the capital of San José. According to Global Positioning Specialists’ (GPS) research, it’s the fourth most dangerous country to be a driver mainly due to low quality roads (it scored 2.8/7) and a high road traffic death risk.
3) Colombia
Colombia ranked as the third most dangerous country to be a driver after securing two Top 10 rankings – death rates, where it came 10th and road quality ( third) This is a night street scene in the capital, Bogota.
2) Uruguay
Uruguay is the second most dangerous country to be a driver. Motor vehicle theft played a big role, equating to 503 per 100,000 population – more than double the theft rate in the US (No 6). The roads can be challenging too, as The Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour found out in 2015 at Punta del Este.
1) Lebanon
Lebanon takes top spot and the unenviable title of the world’s most dangerous country to be a driver, (according to GPS – Global Positioning Specialists) with a high road traffic death rate of 22.6 deaths per 100,000 population, extremely poor road quality conditions and a motor vehicle theft rate of 179 per 100,000 population.