Comments on: The Geography of Road Danger

By: David Hembrow

David Hembrow — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:24:05 +0000

Chris Hutt Says: “Until about 1965 most people killed by motor vehicles in the UK were pedestrians or cyclists rather than car occupants. [...] So it has always been the most vulnerable who bear the brunt of the pain of mass motorisation.”

Evan Says: “Half of all crash victims are vulnerable road users [...] WHO Fact”

Both absolutely right, though it doesn’t have to be this way. It’s one of the reasons why I find it truly remarkable that the Netherlands has the world’s safest roads.

Britain achieved its good overall road safety record by removing the vulnerable. The Netherlands achieved its results while increasing the numbers of vulnerable road users.

World-wide you see the same story. Even here. There are very few deaths on the road which don’t involve a motor vehicle. Keep people away from cars and they’re safer.

By: Cap'n Transit

Cap'n Transit — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:41:20 +0000

Okay, what’s up with Slovakia? Is it a pedestrian paradise or just an error in the data? Any idea where the raw data is, anyway?

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:54:19 +0000

Canada is probably lower due to higher usage of transit, cycling and walking. In general, our cities, while in need of improvement, are more walking and cycling friendly.

I expect that India is better than expected because most of the population lives in rural areas where there are very few cars. I expect that the rates in the cities are pretty bad.

By: Alger

Alger — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:52:53 +0000

One serious problem with this map. The denominator/normalization is population, but the universe shouldn’t be determined by the number of potential targets since everyone is not exposed to the same degree because the real degree of risk is determined by the number of vehicles.
A more appropriate index would be the number of fatalities to the number of motor vehicle drivers. Even better would be miles traveled, but that is difficult data to obtain.

By: Patrick Mc

Patrick Mc — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:12:12 +0000

Never heard of exposure as one of the 5 E’s, but I suppose that there may be multiple concepts with the same name.

I’ve always heard the 5 E’s as Engineering, Enforcement, Education, Encouragement, & Evaluation (with Environment and Equity sometimes added in).

Regardless, exposure is a particular challenge for bike/ped safety research, with little understanding of crash frequency by mile or the impact on ridership of physical or programmatic improvements.

By: Omri

Omri — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:47:35 +0000

I noticed that Turkey comes out safer than the US, and discussed it with a Turkish coworker. The usual jokes about suicidal Turkish drivers not-withstanding, it is true that drivers in Turkey will often take risks that are unacceptable in the US. And the Turks are far more fond of 2-wheelers. And yet their rates are lower.

Well, Turks don’t drive drunk. And the difference in casualty rates is a stark contrast.

By: Clarence

Clarence — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:19:20 +0000

Having been there, doesn’t surprise me that Australia and Canada score well, but I have heard that India is among the worst, but seems to fare better than I expected.

I remember Bogota was a pretty dangerous place to be a pedestrian.

By: Fuchsia Gormenghast

Fuchsia Gormenghast — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:19:46 +0000

Re: Tony Toews, #4

Having lived in Canada, I would say that it’s because Canadians drive more carefully and courteously than Americans. For example, they drive with their lights on at all times. And, stereotypes in this case being pretty close to the mark, Canadians in general are more polite, more restrained, less aggressive, and more timid than the average American.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:10:05 +0000

Yep, Iran not Iraq is what leaps out at me (not like Iraq is green or anything, but still, some basic geography would be appreciated).

And @ Just Brooklyn, it could be the motorbikes/motorcycles….except the use you describe is exceedingly common in many other countries (from my personal experience, Vietnam and India stand out). Could it be the heavy use of motorbikes PLUS a heavier use of cars than in places like Vietnam and India? Interesting thought.

By: j

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:41:02 +0000

Another legal “problem” in some countries is pedestrian right-of-way laws. In the USSR cars had right-of-way at crosswalks. Wide streets in many cities made crossing the street rather treacherous. I assume this has not changed in post-Soviet times, and there are a lot more cars now.