It has been shown in the past that the road fatality rates of different countries are dependent on the total vehicle ownership of such countries. Recent research has revealed that the passenger car ownership is a better predictor of the fatality rate of a country. This is also the case for the different continents. When comparing the fatality rates of three continents, it was found that there are other socioeconomic factors, such as income, illiteracy and life expectancy that also contribute to the large differences between the developed countries of the Northern Hemisphere and the developing countries of Africa. Accident and fatality rates can be expressed in terms of the population, or the vehicle or passenger car population or the road network of a country. In the paper the comparisons are made for all four of these rates and the differences are discussed. The relationships between road safety and the different socioeconomic variables as applicable to the countries of the three continents are also shown. Conclusions are made regarding the reasons for the differences in fatality rates. (Author/publisher).
Samenvatting