According to a new study from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Americans are ten times more likely to die of cancer or heart disease than in an auto accident. The study, available here, used World Health Organization data to compare the rates of death by car accidents, heart disease, cancer and cerebrovascular disease in 193 countries.
Overall, auto deaths average 18 per 100,000 people, according to the paper published this month. The most dangerous country to drive in is Namibia at 45 per 100,000. The safest? The Maldives in the Indian Ocean with just 2 fatalities per 100,000 drivers. The U.S. ranks just slightly below the average at 14 per 100,000. (See map below.)
University of Michigan
The 25 countries with the highest (red) and lowest (green) rates of fatalities per population from road crashes.
The highest rate of fatalities:
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