[atom058]

Looking at the raw statistics, it seems that the US could do more to improve road safety

I'm not a traffic engineer, but I believe better street design (meaning slowing cars down) and roundabouts could help. Building more public transport is also an option, but it might not be a feasible solution due to US City design.

US: 12,9 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants Europe: 9.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants Sweden: 2,2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants Netherlands: 3,8 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-r...

[akira2501]

It's tempting to pull statistics for the "entire USA" and then try to imagine policy around it. What you should do is pull statistics for different states and then consider policy.

For example, Texas has fewer inhabitants than California, yet more people die on Texas roads than California roads. Perhaps there's something to be examined there?

Further.. again, so many fatalities in the US involve alcohol that you immediately want to think about how Europe, Sweden and the Netherlands handle drunk driving behavior and what sorts of drunk driving diversion programs they engage in.

It's also why I mentioned Australia's "provisional plate" system. I think that's a great idea, and it specifically puts horsepower limits on vehicles for "provisional" drivers. This is also a known risk factor, and it's why insurance coverage for young men under 24 is significantly more expensive than for females in the same age bracket. The fatality ratio is 8:1 across the sexes.

So.. sure, roundabouts and traffic calming might be it, but my reading of the data suggests more interesting problems.