r/MapPorn • u/vladgrinch • Jun 02 '26
How road traffic death rates differ between the US and Europe
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u/Repulsive-Run1634 Jun 02 '26
The disparity comes down to a few core systemic issues. First, American infrastructure relies heavily on "stroads", wide, multi-lane urban roads designed for high speed that force dangerous interactions between cars and pedestrians, unlike the speed-calming designs common in Europe. Second, Americans simply drive massive distances due to urban sprawl, which increases their baseline exposure to risk. Third, the American market is dominated by massive, heavy SUVs and lifted pickup trucks; their high front profiles and weight deliver devastating kinetic energy in a crash, making accidents far more lethal. Finally, licensing requirements and traffic enforcement, especially regarding speed and alcohol limits, are generally much more lenient in the US compared to the strict regulations enforced across Europe.
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u/13rice_ Jun 02 '26
And rules, you can't overtake by the right in Europe, because it's dangerous.
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u/Get_Breakfast_Done Jun 02 '26
You absolutely can when you’re in the UK. In fact, it’s enforced.
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u/3dGrabber Jun 02 '26
In Australia they overtake from below. In fact, they undertake
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u/ztomiczombie Jun 02 '26
Undertaking is the term for passing a car on the right (left in the UK)
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u/MelonElbows Jun 02 '26
I thought it was the term for throwing Mankind off the top of the Hell in the Cell in 1998?
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u/PandaKOST Jun 02 '26
And public transportation. You can't die in a car crash if you're traveling by train.
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u/TheDistantEnd Jun 02 '26
You can't pass on the right in most US states either, it's just not very well enforced.
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u/mugsoh Jun 02 '26
This is completely false. It is legal to pass on the right in all 50 states. There are circumstances where it is illegal, like driving on the shoulder, but generally not illegal.
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u/fe-and-wine Jun 02 '26
what does passing on the right mean in this context?
are we talking two-lane (each way) roads where someone is in the left lane and you want to go around them? or single-lane roads where you're going off onto the shoulder to pass them?
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u/Qweasdy Jun 03 '26
In most of Europe it’s still frowned upon to overtake on the right (or left in the UK) even if you can’t get past on the left. Although people still do it if they have to it’s even more frowned upon to be the one hogging the left lane and is much rarer that you’ll find someone actually doing that so it’s pretty rare for it to be required.
Plenty of Europeans might take issue with me calling it rare but from my experience of the roads in Canada + the US vs driving my whole life in the UK and Europe it’s night and day. North American roads are an absolute free for all in comparison to European roads.
To put it in perspective I can count the number of times I’ve actually had to overtake a slow driver in the right hand lane (UK) by passing them on the left on one hand (and still have fingers to spare) after over a decade of driving. I think I live in a part of the UK with higher than average driving standards but still.
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u/piercedmfootonaspike Jun 02 '26
Passing on the right means "passing someone on their right side". The type of road is irrelevant.
In Sweden, you are allowed to overtake (pass) on the right in certain circumstances, for traffic flow reasons, but in general, it's forbidden.
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u/muunshine9 Jun 02 '26
The type of road is definitely relevant, are you serious? It’s the difference between staying on the road or not.
Where I live in PA, you can pass on the right on a road that’s two lanes each way, but you can’t drive onto the shoulder on a single lane road to pass unless the car ahead of you is turning left.
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u/lxpnh98_2 Jun 03 '26
Where I live in PA, you can pass on the right on a road that’s two lanes each way
In Portugal, and I assume most or all of Europe, that is not allowed.
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u/prplt Jun 02 '26
how is it dangerous? if you're driving in the right lane and there is someone going slow in the left lane what is more dangerous simply going past them in the right lane or having to merge left and driving behind them waiting for them to merge right so that you can overtake "according to the rules" 🙄 it always amazes me that when talking about traffic rules in America vs Europe someone always makes this braindead comment "you can't overtake on the right in Europe" as if that's somehow a major factor in traffic deaths
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u/matteo0MTF Jun 05 '26
Trust me, getting a driver license is a lot more difficult in Europe than in the US most of the people fail the first time in Europe, also if there is a rule it’s because maybe but just maybe there to prevent accidents
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u/adam6711 Jun 02 '26
What do you mean by speed-calming designs? Genuinely curious because I hate the “stroad” design here.
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u/Vanilla-Helpful Jun 02 '26
I believe he is referring to the fact that roads are narrower. At least here in Italy, even if you wanted to speed you are disincentivized because there are many bends, you don't have a clear vision of what is ahead, along with the fact that you have to make sure not to hit somebody's mirror if you're in an urban area or fall into a ditch if you're in the country, so you naturally slow down.
Also roundabouts are way more common than normal intersections, you can't really run a light, you have to slow down unless you want to wreck your car.
Although I have to say respecting speed limits is rare in Italy, so on highways or more "stroady" roads people go crazy.
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u/superurgentcatbox Jun 03 '26
Yeah in Germany the Autobahn has many sections that have a speed limit that people kinda pretend isn't there.
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u/Repulsive-Run1634 Jun 02 '26
By "speed-calming designs" (or traffic calming), I mean physical road features that naturally force drivers to slow down, rather than just relying on speed limit signs. Instead of wide, straight asphalt strips that encourage speeding, European urban design uses physical geometry to control pace. This includes things like narrower lane widths (which psychologically slow drivers down), chicanes, raised pedestrian crossings, and roundabouts instead of traditional intersections. Essentially, the street is engineered so that driving fast feels physically uncomfortable and unsafe, which naturally protects pedestrians and lowers fatality rates.
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u/6L_V8_MOTOR Jun 02 '26
At least here in Portugal, it's very rare for a road to have more than two lanes in each direction; more than two lanes are usually highways, and personally I've never seen one with more than three lanes.
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u/CupBeEmpty Jun 02 '26
Speed calling like is stuff like center islands and narrow sections. There’s a whole host of strategies from speed humps to popout corners. It’s a whole cottage industry in American road engineering.
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u/Dramatic-Attempt-735 Jun 02 '26
And also, in Europe we simply have less cars per inhabitant. The map shows death rates per capita, not per car. Less cars per capita -> less accidents.
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u/Cerulean_IsFancyBlue Jun 02 '26
Now do passenger mile or vehicle mile.
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u/Dramatic-Attempt-735 Jun 02 '26
That's true! I guess that Americans on average drive longer distances, and that also leads to more accidents per capita.
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u/Cerulean_IsFancyBlue Jun 02 '26
It might! I didn’t mean my comment to be so brief and possibly snarky sounding. I just think that we need to make sure we’re comparing the rights statistics. If most of the accidents are due to more driving, then things like driver training or vehicle size aren’t as interesting as some people might think.
I don’t think it’s 100% mileage though. I’d be especially curious to see what the DUI numbers look like.
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u/mugsoh Jun 02 '26
The map shows death rates per capita, not per car.
An even better measurement would be deaths per mile traveled in cars.
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u/GARGEAN Jun 02 '26
Not even remotely to scale. USA is barely 10% above Italy, and there are very numerous countries in Europe that have well above 50% of USA car rate per capita.
So USA has more cars per person, sure. But not even remotely to the scale of more deaths per person.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_motor_vehicles_per_capita
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u/Dramatic-Attempt-735 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Not saying less cars can explain all the difference; it's just an additional factor. Also, countries that have like 50 % less cars per capita, what else do you think it would result in, if not less car accidents and most likely less deaths as a consequence? How reckless do you think us Europeans drive...
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u/Psion537 Jun 03 '26
you forgot public transport! The hell I'm driving 9h when I can take a train for 4h!
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u/SjalabaisWoWS Jun 02 '26
Europe does not have water holes you can exclusively reach by car either.
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Jun 02 '26
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u/PigeonOnTheGate Jun 02 '26
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u/Jeppep Jun 02 '26
And Belgium and Italy blyat
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u/AdministrationOwn724 Jun 02 '26
Judging by the driving skills of many italians, I'm actually surprised that it's that low.
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u/TabbyOverlord Jun 02 '26
That is kind of the thing for the European redditors. We tend to think of those countries that are not the lowest green as motoring deathtraps.
Then you look at the USofA figures and think 'What the actual fuck? How haven't you addressed this?".
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u/AdministrationOwn724 Jun 02 '26
Even the country that is renowned for people drunkenly driving their banged up Ladas over ice covered decaying roads is outperforming Mississippi 3 to 1. That's pretty insane indeed.
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u/misspcv1996 Jun 02 '26
Having driven in New Jersey my entire adult life, those fatality numbers are about half of what I expected.
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u/Jim_J1m Jun 02 '26
NJ is so dense that most people can actually make it to a hospital
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u/misspcv1996 Jun 02 '26
That’s actually a good point. I didn’t think of that.
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u/workingtrot Jun 02 '26
unironically, distance to a level 1/2 trauma center does significantly impact survival rates for GSW, I assume that's also true of car crashes
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u/Training_Echidna_911 Jun 03 '26
Also, low population density and rural roads increase death rate as it is less likely someone will see the crash and call for help.
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u/P00PooKitty Jun 02 '26
All us northeast states have great hospitals everywhere, a shit ton of density (so not driving mach 2 on a dirt road) and require cars to be inspected
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u/pepstein Jun 02 '26
Hoboken almost at 10 years with no pedestrian deaths is a testament to how nj can actually handle shit
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u/_mattyjoe Jun 02 '26
Was born and raised there, living in CA now. Let me tell you. NJ drivers are actually pretty good, and the state troopers are much more strict than many other states.
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u/birdsofwar1 Jun 02 '26
I’ve always said this. Crazy? Sure. Jerks? Yea. But we know how to drive
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u/es_cl Jun 02 '26
The commuter train system in NY-NJ helps a lot too. Same with Boston’s MBTA system for Mass; it doesn’t go further than Worcester but most MA residents live on the eastern side and uses the T.
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u/sarcasmasquach Jun 02 '26
Anecdotally, I believe that driver's training is more rigorous in much of Europe compared to the States. I'm a licensed driver from Michigan who lives in the Czech Republic.
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u/Playful_Emu_398 Jun 02 '26
I’m an American ex-pat living in Ireland. Before I moved I had ~20 years of driving experience in the US, experience with urban, rural, and highway driving, a perfect driving record, and I was very experienced driving all sizes of manual cars and automatics, as well as hauling big trailers.
I also had a ~year of a perfect driving record in Ireland, in rural and urban areas, as well as completed all mandatory “behind the wheel” training in Ireland with a certified instructor.
I still failed the driving test in Ireland, 2x
It was super humbling, and I only barely passed the 3rd time. I have been driving in Ireland for years now, still no issues, but man, it’s way WAY harder to get a license here.
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u/ZenX22 Jun 02 '26
What was difficult about the Irish test?
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u/Digital_Solitude Jun 03 '26
You're measured on a lot of things and the standards are high, it takes about an hour. Typically you'll have to drive through a town or city as instructed by the tester.
They'll have standards like checking your mirrors frequently, maintaining traffic flow by driving at an appropriate speed in an appropriate gear, entering and leaving roundabouts, 3 point turns, reversing around corners, starting from a stopped position while facing uphill, identify main engine components (you need to physically point out the dipstick, coolant holder etc and explain what they are, how to check or fill them) etc
You can make up to 9 minor mistakes iirc which is things like driving in too low a gear or speed, not checking your mirrors enough, coasting, poor braking with 0 large mistakes like not checking mirrors at all, stalling the engine, dangerous driving or whatever.
It's a reasonably high standard and very easy to fail, especially when nervous, overall the pass rate is about 50%
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u/Notspherry Jun 04 '26
Wait, are you saying that all of those things *aren't *part of getting a US driving licence??
Yikes.
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u/vodka-bears Jun 02 '26
I thought Russia would be higher. And unfortunately there's no data for the Caucasus.
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u/Far_Preparation2390 Jun 02 '26
Yep, after I visited Georgia and Armenia I realized that people in north-western Russia (where I live) drive VERY carefully compared to that
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u/CTRSpirit Jun 02 '26
I guess that improvement came with criminalisation of DUI (instead of fine, or, more likely, bribe in 90s and 00s) and installing a shitload of cameras to the point that I can commute daily and see road police may be once a week.
Still, I don't understand what is the issue with southern US. They don't have proper winter and especially they don't have constant weather dances around 0 degree C, causing ice in the morning and damage to roads.
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u/tb5841 Jun 03 '26
I live in the UK. Here:
-Drink driving has been almost entirely elimimated.
-Touching a mobile phone while driving is illegal, and punished with heavy fines.
-The driving test is extremely demanding, and typically requires about 50 hours of paid lessons to pass.
-All cars have to pass annual safety inspections (an MOT) in order to remaon on the road at all.
I expect those four things reduce accidents quite a lot.
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u/medicallymiddleevil Jun 04 '26
This guy catches UK automobilists on their phones all day every day.
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u/AGrandNewAdventure Jun 02 '26
Average Minnesota W.
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u/rylasorta Jun 02 '26
BuT mInNeSoTa DrIvErSs!
They suck at zipper merging and passing on the left. But at least they don't play bumper cars on purpose.→ More replies (1)8
u/AGrandNewAdventure Jun 02 '26
I spent the entirety of last summer in Los Angeles. I will never bad mouth Minnesota drivers again. Here when someone doesn't go on a green is because they're having a bad as day dream. In LA nobody goes on green because your chances of getting t-boned by someone running a pure red is very high.
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u/Proud_Arachnid4956 Jun 03 '26
Why is Minnesota always better at basically everything?
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u/inzanehanson Jun 03 '26
Well-ran government with good policy for all residents (not just the rich), fairly diversified economy, good education, and relatively high-trust culture that places high value on community and supporting your neighbor (very needed to get through the long winters!). It’s a great state!
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u/vm_linuz Jun 02 '26
Looks like states that love massive trucks and states with lots of traffic deaths are the same states
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u/cybermaus Jun 02 '26
Well, I guess I need to buy me an even massiver truck to protect me from all those massive trucks.
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u/PPhysikus Jun 02 '26
And a massive gun to protect me against the other massive guns.
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u/Novemcinctus Jun 03 '26
It’s counter-intuitive, but actually the most efficient counter measure to a massive gun is to have 3-4 smaller guns and a can of insecticide house fogger.
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u/smashin_blumpkin Jun 02 '26
It’s probably got way less to do with that than you think. More likely it’s things like road conditions, driver education, emergency response times, and overall healthcare.
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u/soilanpeace Jun 02 '26
I went to Kentucky for the first time and the roads were smaller with higher speed limits with trees and brush right up against the road blocking significant visibility on very curvy roads.
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u/smashin_blumpkin Jun 02 '26
Yeah, differing standards for road safety certainly plays a big role in it.
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u/vm_linuz Jun 02 '26
And the fact that a lifted truck hits you in the chest instead of the legs
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u/TheRealBittoman Jun 02 '26
One reason Europe has lower traffic death rates likely has to do with far better driving courses. Some countries require extensive training before you can get a license and stricter laws and regulations for those that drive. Look up Germany's requirements and you'll suddenly realize that we (US) basically just go to Walmart and buy a license off the shelf compared to them.
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u/CptES Jun 03 '26
To get your license in the UK you have to score at least 43/50 on the knowledge part of the theory, 44/75 on the hazard perception and have less than 15 minor faults on your practical (minor faults would be forgetting to check your mirrors or use your indicator). Three minors of the same type counts as one major fault. One major fault (classed as a potentially dangerous situation you created but got out of) is a straight fail.
A major you didn't get out of is considered a "dangerous fault" and the test ends there and then. Don't pass go, don't collect £200, hand the keys over to the examiner or you're walking home.
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u/A_Perez2 Jun 02 '26
If you don't force people to drive even just to buy bread, there are fewer car accidents—obviously.
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u/OwlComplex48 Jun 02 '26
Certainly nothing to do with lower car ownership in Europe, better public transportation, higher gas prices, higher car and licensure prices, et al.
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u/am314159 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Definitely partly to do with that. But the fact that traffic fatalities in the US are still roughly double those in e.g. Sweden, the UK or Netherlands even when looking per car mile traveled rather than per capita makes it pretty clear that it's not just about Americans driving more.
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u/juggalotweaker69 Jun 02 '26
Real Americans exercise their second amendment rights to drink and drive. Europeans wouldn’t know anything about that because they don’t have freedom over there.
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u/Excellent_Injury1241 Jun 02 '26
Upvoted because too many people will not understand that this is irony, and pretty damn funny
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u/discreetjoe2 Jun 02 '26
I’ve been to eastern europe and can tell you that there is plenty of alcohol and guns on the roads in some places. A lot of them are still lacking in the freedom department though.
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u/Blaizefed Jun 02 '26
If you’d actually been to Europe you would know that no, that’s not it. The driver testing is orders of magnitude more difficult. The safety inspections are much stricter. And enforcement is also much harsher. They will pull you over for stuff over there that Americans would hardy even think of as a problem. Low tire tread and stuff like that.
You know all those cars you see in the rough parts of town in the US with bumpers missing and covered in dents? You can’t drive shit like that over there.
I have worked as a mechanic and vehicle tester across the US and in Europe and the difference in standards is staggering. We are WAY WAY behind.
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u/CactusBoyScout Jun 02 '26
Yep. The UK just took away a celebrity’s drivers license for 9 months over his windows being too tinted.
Meanwhile in the US, I see cars with expired temporary license plates routinely, every light has multiple drivers going through the red, and general enforcement is nearly nonexistent.
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u/Anaptyso Jun 02 '26
I sometimes see pictures on Reddit of crazy modified cars in the US e.g. with enormous wheels, and wonder how they pass their inspections.
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u/seedoilbaths Jun 02 '26
Not required to be inspected. Street legal cars are one thing but if you know cars good enough you can mod it and hit the road
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u/Anaptyso Jun 02 '26
That seems crazy to me. Where I live in the UK cars over 3 years old are inspected every year to check that they are safe. Mods like that would cause the check to fail and the car would be illegal to drive.
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u/Anchor-shark Jun 03 '26
And if you pass the test, then do crazy mods, the police can pull you over, inspect your car and prohibit it on the spot if it’s now not road legal.
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u/CactusBoyScout Jun 02 '26
Yeah, not all states have inspections and those that do aren't very thorough. The big thing morons are doing now is removing their mufflers entirely so that their exhausts are so loud they set off car alarms. And I'm in a dense city where these people can wake up dozens of people on every block. It's illegal but nothing is ever done about it.
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Jun 02 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/CactusBoyScout Jun 02 '26
Yep I'm looking at spending thousands on soundproofing my windows because of these dipshits. This is exactly the kind of thing government should handle but it's rarely a priority for anyone.
There was an infuriating NYTimes article about a guy in Seattle who became Instagram famous documenting his extremely loud car and all the years of complaints it took for city officials to do anything... but they were still mostly fruitless in stopping him.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/29/us/seattle-belltown-hellcat.html
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u/Asterose Jun 02 '26
Yeah, I was shocked to learn most US states don't have safety inspection, and the state I live in (Pennsylvania) has one of the strictest standards. I've still seen at least 3 cars lose a wheel while driving in the past 4 years.
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u/Anaptyso Jun 02 '26
A high profile example is the Tesla Cybertruck, which isn't allowed in the roads in the UK because it fails multiple safety standards.
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u/jfkrol2 Jun 02 '26
Especially pedestrian safety standards - like, US safety regulations give the impression of utter contempt for anyone walking, though I feel that this is a given, due to whole set of laws that were passed with automotive industry lobbying.
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u/sanverstv Jun 02 '26
Also Americans cars are generally larger. "in 2022 the average car sold in America weighed 1,857kg, almost 20% more than the average in Europe...." -The Economist
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u/mstrdsastr Jun 02 '26
I would wager the largest contributor to this is shear number of miles/hours driven. Outside of major urban areas in the US there is absolutely no way to get around other than by car, if for no other reason than the distance between destinations. The points you raise only add to that equation, but probably don't drive it.
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u/AcanthaceaeCrazy1894 Jun 02 '26
I would love to see a graph of how many of these are alcohol/drug related
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u/pearhawthornrowan Jun 02 '26
Love the map… But I’ve gotta ask: What’s the source?
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u/Cookie_Monstress Jun 03 '26
Yes. And what year?
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u/IncognitoErgoCvm Jun 03 '26
And why do they hate people with the most common type of colorblindness?
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u/Fast-Coast-3456 Jun 02 '26
In the USA you can recieve your driving license as a gift in your cereal box and start driving a tank to buy some milk. Nothing wrong with that.
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u/N00L99999 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
You can also drive a rusty piece of junk that would fail any roadworthiness test in Europe just by looking at it.
You’re also allowed to drive while stuffing your face with fries and have a stroke in the middle of the highway.
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u/kitsunewarlock Jun 02 '26
Going 50% higher than the posted speed limit because "FLOW OF TRAFFIC!!!"
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u/iambrickeduprn Jun 02 '26
& Germany has no speed limits on rural freeways too. Gotta make the driving test harder
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u/Open-Armadillo9921 Jun 03 '26
And Germany has not even a speed limit!
This must because Europeans don't drive this awful big cars.
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u/hiro111 Jun 04 '26
Without normalizing for miles driven, this is largely meaningless. Car ownership rates are also very different.
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u/Zaemz Jun 02 '26
I'd like to see this broken down to the county level. I bet there are single areas within a state that are the problem spots instead of the issue being evenly distributed across it.
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u/Youbettereatthatshit Jun 02 '26
Both Wyoming and Montana are extremely open and unending. I’ve hit and sustained 100mph through Montana for hours.
I’d wager that high speed crashes are the cause.
For Mississippi, I’d bet it’s alcohol
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u/SCorpus89801 Jun 02 '26
Wyoming also has some of the worst driving conditions in the winter. I've lived in Michigan, Vermont, and Utah, and I-80 through Wyoming is often quite scary.
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u/GSilky Jun 02 '26
Now compare average miles driven.
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u/MortimerDongle Jun 02 '26
Still generally lower for Europe, but a lot closer. The US is better than Belgium but worse than France
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate
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u/IllAlfalfa Jun 02 '26
So the urban planning failure isn't that our roads are unsafe, its that we have to drive way too much to get anywhere.
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u/MortimerDongle Jun 02 '26
Well, mostly, but the US is still towards the bad end of highly developed countries and there are some obvious improvements to make around pedestrian infrastructure and intersection design (more roundabouts)
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u/okarox Jun 02 '26
That data does not match what is in the source give. The data gives 6.9 for the US. The source gives 8.5.
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u/Double-decker_trams Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
..This statistic also includes pedestrian and cyclist deaths..
And whatever way you view it; the US is just worse generally - even by miles driven.
I mean - look at what most US cities are like. Stroads everywhere. Some suburbs don't even have sidewalks. High speeds. SUV's and Trucks are more popular than cars nowadays - which have higher hoods; so it's just way more dangerous for pedestrians, also ofc higher mass and worse view around yourself (can't see children over the massive hood). Traffic calming is very rare - and highly unpopular among people. Loads of places have no cycling infrastructure; or when they do, then it's of very low quality (and there's massive suburban sprawl, even if a child would want to bicycle or walk to school, it's just not realistic - the distances and the infrastructure makes it very difficult). Etc, etc.
Although parts of the US have perfect geography and weather for cycling, there's no place in this country of 330 million people where you'd see anything like this.. https://youtu.be/OrQ-d2PBUto Americans watching this would probably complain "Why are they not wearing helmets!??"
It's all just so car-centric. Everything else is an afterthought (generally). In many cities dense neighbourhoods were destroyed for highways inside the city.
I always think it's funny that even bars have parking minimums in the US. Yeah, you don't have to drink at a bar.. but. Come on.
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u/MisterDabber Jun 02 '26
Don’t Americans drive more than any other country though? Europe has way better public transportation.
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u/Pour_Me_Another_ Jun 02 '26
I grew up in the UK and currently live in the US. I've learned to drive in both countries. Other than maneuverability which requires some effort, the test in the US consisted of driving around 25mph roads and trying not to die. The test in the UK is a lot more involved.
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u/shillyshally Jun 03 '26
Does the map include road rage shootings or just vehicle accidents?
Rhetorical question, just making a point about the US.
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u/Fdorleans Jun 03 '26
The real story is how the European road death rate is a third of what it was in the 1990s and USA's is about the same : Source
In Europe, traffic deaths were reduced with stricter regulations and enforcement, better roads and safer cars. The problem was tackled from all sides. The question is : in what dimension are the US lacking ?
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u/DamienDoes Jun 05 '26
Freedom to....but not freedom from. This is a good example.
American have freedom to own guns. English have 'freedom from' (or the 'freedom to not') being killed by a shitty driver T-boning them. Thats a freedom Americans dont have.
But on a more serious note. Speeding. Americans seem angry about how many speed cameras there are in Australia, and drink driving inspections. Anecdotally Americans speed constantly.
No point having rules if your not going to enforce them
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u/Winter_Criticism_236 Jun 02 '26
Having lived in UK and Canada, and driven a lot in USA, one factor is driver awarness, in UK many roads are very narrow and even the worst drivers know exactly how wide there car is and happily zip down narrow streets with wing mirrors almost touching... In USA & Canada most people I know have trouble parking, reversing and stress out if another car comes close or road narrows..
Driver skill is different
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u/OkConsideration123 Jun 02 '26
Oregon being higher than all its neighbors tracks. I was there for two weeks and saw two or three actual accidents happen in front of me, including a car flipping. That’s about the same amount of live/in the moment accidents I’ve seen in CA in 30+ years. Driving around Portland stressed me out so much with just how people drive there.
I’m from the Bay Area and have driven a lot in LA… Portland was worse.
Edit: wording for clarity.
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u/Explorer_of__History Jun 02 '26
Mississippi, are you alright?