Sixty seconds on . . . road traffic crashes
BMJ 2016; 354 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i3833 (Published 12 July 2016) Cite this as: BMJ 2016;354:i3833
That’s a cheery topic
A report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has compared the incidence of vehicle crashes in 19 high income countries and has found—wait for it—that the United Kingdom is good at something.1 2
Good at crashes—hardly something to cheer about
What I meant was that the UK is good at preventing crashes. The UK has the world’s second lowest death rate from vehicle crashes (2.8 per 100 000 population), after Sweden (2.7). The United States has the highest death rate of the 19 countries, at 10.3. Each year the US has more than 32 000 deaths and two million non-fatal injuries on its roads.
What a car crash—at least the UK is still classed as a high income country
I don’t think you’re taking this seriously. The UK has a good record on crash prevention in comparison with other countries. Some 16% of road deaths in the UK have alcohol as a contributory factor, half the 31% in the US, the highest rate of all the 19 countries. This compares with 30% in Australia and 29% in France.
Given the performance of the UK countries in the Euro football championship it’s good to know we’re a world leader in something
We’re a bit slow, but that’s a good thing in this context. The UK (and Ireland) has the lowest rate of road deaths caused by speeding, at just 15%. Finland has the highest, at 42%, followed by Denmark at 40%. The UK also has good seatbelt use: 95% of passengers in the front wear a seat belt and 88% in the back. In the US only 87% of passengers wear a seat belt in the front and 78% in the back.
Oh well, accidents will happen, I suppose
The report says that the Swedish approach to road safety decrees that there is no such thing as an “accident.” No loss of life on the road is acceptable, all humans make mistakes, and traffic injuries are preventable. Responsibility for crashes is shared among road users and “system providers”—car manufacturers, road builders, and the police.
References
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