Abstract
In the developing countries of the world growing numbers of people are killed and injured on the road each year; in fact, the rate at which accidents are occurring relative to the numbers of vehicles are typically 20 or more times greater than in the countries of Western Europe and North America. But such statistics have to be interpreted with care, and this paper looks at recent trends in accident rates in a range of developing countries and examines the available data in the light of general economic development one aspect of which is the general level of motorisation.