Why does Africa and Middle East have so many Traffic Accidents ?

[JI7]

after watching some videos of Russian crashes i started looking for other countries . i know India is really bad also and thought they would be one of the worst.in total numbers they are high because of the population but not in terms of percentage. the reason we see mostly Russian crashes is because they have cameras .

but i looked up the numbers for the world and nations in Africa and the Middle East seem to be some of the worst. i'm guessing if they are poor it could be because of things like road conditions, lack of traffic lights and other signs, lack of police and other enforcement.

the US is not so great either compared to Canada and other comparable nations.

why is Iran so high ? Iraq is high also .

link below has a map

http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/road-traffic-accidents/by-country/

[WCGreen]

1. Roads made for wagons and carts

is one guess. Perhaps the lack of consistency as far as traffic order goes may play a role.

[Recursion]

2. "Lanes" and "signals" are somewhat tenuous concepts in a lot of those places

Even stranger, though, is that in a lot of those countries most drivers are professional drivers (if you can afford a car, you can afford to pay someone to drive it).

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. In countries like that, a lot of the traffic will be bikes, motorbikes and so on

Cheaper, more vulnerable. The mixture of vehicles may be the biggest factor.

[Recursion]

7. To say nothing of cows

Cows never seem to use turn signals, either...

[DetlefK]

3. It does depend on culture.

I read an article about five years ago that german company was hired by Saudi-Arabia to plan and regulate the traffic during the pilgrimage of Mecca. They had to plan routes to direct the ever-increasing numbers of pilgrims towards the locations (hotels, dining areas, the Kaaba, a stone-pillar representing Satan who every pilgrim throws a stone against...) and away from them.

I remember that one of the planners mentioned that a main obstacle is the unwillingness of Arabs to accept the rules of the road over personal convenience. He mentioned that roads get clogged with street-vendors and he cited the example how he saw a street-vendor lay out a carpet and set up shop right in the middle of a pedestrian-zone where people are supposed to pass through.

[DrDan]

4. lived (and drove) in Ethiopia for 2 years, Saudi for 4 years - have driven in many of the other

countries.

I don't think you can point to specific causes that apply to all.

First - that chart reflects death rates. In Ethiopia, a cause could be the availability of responders (ambulances) to transport accident victims and limited medical care. The medical care can be even more difficult to find when outside a city, and if found, not nearly the same quality as we are used to. Roads outside the city are narrower and not kept to our standards. Herding animals even within the cities is commonplace. (I once hit a goat that wandered into my path. I was not only responsible to the owner for the cost of the goat, but also for future off-spring (that was negotiated).)

Saudi is a completely different story. The roads are modern. Signals everywhere. Here, the drivers drive at will - speeding, running signals, lanes ignored. If one wanted to make a left turn while at a red light - it was quite customary to make 3 right turns (legal on a red light) with u-turns to accomplish that goal. Driving during Ramadan is quite an experience. Drivers headed home (at dusk) have not eaten all day and are famished. All rules of the road are subject to being broken. Red lights ignored, speed limits ignored, passing on shoulders. Best to stay off the road during this time. Driving between cities can bring extra risk with speeding and animals (mostly camels) wandering across a very dark road.

I think you really have to look at individual country causes - not universal ones.

[DrDan]

5. one other observation - strictly anecdotal

Canada is gray (lowest death rate) and U.S. purple (just above gray).

(I also posted this observation in the Canada forum.) We just returned a month ago from a couple weeks driving in Canada - Vancouver to Banff etc. I found the drivers there to be VERY polite when compared to drivers throughout the U.S. Because we were from out-of-country, I heeded speed limits very closely - set my cruise right on the limit. When approached from behind by a much faster driver, I NEVER experienced tailgating, flashing lights etc. When overtaken, I was never given the finger, glared at, sworn at etc.

I think this increased politeness and lack of a need to insult other drivers could be a contributor to their lower traffic death rates.

[arely staircase]

8. ever been there ?

It isn't a rhetorical question. If you have been to Africa and the ME, those numbers are not surprising.