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Abstract
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Proceedings of the 14th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion (Safety 2022)
Background Road traffic deaths (RTDs) are a leading cause of death throughout the world.
Methods To gauge progress in reducing RTDs, we used data from the International Road Traffic and Accident Database to calculate population-based death rates (per 100,000 population), distance-based death rates (per billion vehicle kilometers traveled), and vehicle-based death rates (per 10,000 registered vehicles), as well as average rates and average percent changes from 2015 to 2019 for 29 high-income countries with populations >1,000,000 residents and for which data were available.
Results In 2019, the U.S. had the highest population-based RTD rate (11.1) compared with 28 other high-income countries; the U.S. rate was 2.3 times higher than the average rate (4.8). The U.S. also had a higher distance-based death rate (6.9) than the average rate for 20 other high-income countries (5.7) and a higher vehicle-based death rate (1.21) than the average rate for 27 other high-income countries (0.78). From 2015 to 2019, Switzerland had the largest percent decrease (-28.7%) in population-based RTD rates, whereas Denmark had the largest percent increase (9.0%). The U.S. remained relatively stable with a 0.1% percent increase.
Conclusion Many high-income countries with low RTD rates and large reductions have implemented effective strategies (e.g., lower blood alcohol concentration limits and speed reduction strategies). Emphasizing a Safe System approach--which accounts for human error and helps protect all road users--and implementing proven strategies can help reduce RTDs in the U.S. and other countries.
Learning Outcomes Learn about road safety progress in 29 high-income countries.
Language: en |