When compared to other countries across the world such as Spain, Sweden and Germany, the UK is one of the safer places for motorists.
The UK overall ranks 7th with 2.4 fatalities per 100,000 people, placing it in the top 10 safest European countries to drive in, according to a study by Hippo Leasing.
The UK has the Highway Code in place in order to reduce road casualties. There are 307 regulations set to cut the number of deaths and injuries on UK roads every day.
If we split the UK up into its individual countries, England ranks the highest, and thus the safest country to drive in on UK roads.
It is followed closely by Scotland & Northern Ireland which both record 2.6 fatalities per 100,000, with Wales in last place recording a marginally higher rate of 2.7 per 100,000.
The UK’s urban speed limit could be playing a large part in why it’s a comparatively safe place to drive versus the most dangerous countries.
The UK’s speed limit is 30 mph and is 7.8 mph lower than the average urban speed limit of the top 10 most dangerous countries.
Highways are also lower, but only slightly at 3.5 kph/2.2 mph lower. Interestingly, the UK’s rural speed limit of 96 kph/60mph is higher than the 94 kph/58.4 mph average of the top 10 most dangerous countries
When compared to the rest of the world, Europe is the safest continent to be driving in. Norway is the safest, with Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Germany all ranking in the top 20.
There are only 4 countries that rank in the top 20 safest countries that are outside of Europe: Japan, Singapore, Greenland, and Israel.
Norway has officially earned the title of the safest place to drive in the world, with only 1.5 traffic-related fatalities per 100,000 people.
In fact, all three Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden and Denmark) rank in the top 5 safest places to drive, with Sweden’s fatalities slightly higher at 1.7 per 100,000 people, and Denmark higher again at 2.2.
Being cut off is the most infuriating driving habit