South Africa named world’s most dangerous country in which to drive, for second year in a row

South Africa has once again been named as the world's most dangerous country in which to drive.

This is according to a report compiled by Zutobi, which created a rating system based on the estimated number of road deaths, using Global Health Observatory data, as well as seat belt usage rate, alcohol-related fatalities and maximum speed limits.

South Africa emerged at the very bottom of the list of 53 countries that were surveyed for road safety, with an overall score of 2.88, putting it behind Thailand (4.34), the United States (4.49), Argentina (5.22) and India (5.30).

It's worth noting that other African countries were not included in the survey, likely due to a lack of data.

The safest countries to drive in, according to the 2024 report, are Norway, Iceland, Japan, Estonia and Hungary.

The study highlighted a particular problem with seat belt usage in South Africa, with an estimated 31% of front seat occupants buckling up, compared to Norway's 97.8%.

However, when it comes to road deaths per 100,000 of the population, which is often used as the most basic yardstick for determining driving risk in a particular country, South Africa was beaten by Thailand, with 25.4 deaths.

SA was not far behind at 24.5 deaths per 100,000, followed by Ecuador, at 23.4, and Morocco, at 18.6. The United States and India were further down that list, at 14.2 and 14.6 respectively.

According to the survey organisers, the average number of estimated road traffic deaths per 100,000 across all countries has decreased from 8.9 to 6.3 since the previous year, while there has been no change in national speed limits and blood alcohol concentration limits in each country.

Worryingly, South Africa has the highest rate of alcohol-related deaths, at 57.5%, followed by Ireland at 38.5% and Cuba at 33.5%.

"Drivers should be aware of the main reasons accidents occur - by narrowing the list down to the major reasons, drivers can also focus specifically on not making those mistakes," Zutobi said.

"Major reasons include speeding, distracted driving, driving under the influence of alcohol, and lack of scanning, among other things. Government awareness campaigns can also help educate drivers to avoid these behaviors."

See the full report here.

IOL