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Driving Safety: The Dangers Lurking Just Around the Bed

By Megan Roth

I consider myself a go-getter all the way and am completely, 100 percent committed to my job. However, I’m also completely, 100 percent committed to relaxing when I’m on vacation – and oh boy do I love vacationing. I love seeing new sights, meeting new people, trying new food, etc.

I’m adventuresome in most aspects, but not when it comes to driving. In fact, I’m hard-pressed to believe you’ll ever get me to go on a trip overseas in which I am required to drive a car (heck, driving in America is bad enough…ain’t no way I’m getting behind the wheel on the wrong side of the road!).

As we all know, many countries have different rules when it comes to driving. And this doesn’t just refer to which side of the road cars are meant to travel; it also refers to passing laws, passenger/cargo specifications and speed limits (when applicable), just to name a few.

These different rules create new risks for drivers and can increase the likelihood that an accident will occur.

In fact, the likelihood of such accidents is so high that certain organizations and officials have deemed the ‘epidemic’ of highway deaths and injuries for travelers in other countries a “growing health crisis” (especially in developing countries) and safety experts claim it’s riskier for travelers to drive in countries other than their own.

Why? A lack of familiarity both with road conditions and local drivers’ tendencies. Other influential factors? Well, almost everything. Often times the types of cars, the road markings and the rules of the road are different.

In fact, they’re more than just “different;” such rules are often inconsistent. And the inconsistencies that exist are partially responsible for the increased fatality rates amongst drivers in low- and middle-income countries (and we’re talking really increased rates – like “approximately 85 percent of auto accidents that kill 1.2 millions people around the world each year occur in low- to middle-income countries”.

Wowza – that’s alarming. Yet, it's easily explained. Take, for example, the whole ‘driving-on-the-opposite-side-of-the-road” situation that exists in many European countries. This is relatively well-known amongst individuals around the world; yet, it is reportedly one of the most difficult adjustments for travelers to make when driving in a country other than their own.

Perhaps this can be used to explain why, in the last three years, 31 percent of Americans who died abroad did so in traffic-related accidents. Oh yeah, these statistics just keep getting better and better (make note of the sarcasm in that sentence).

At least we can say that, on an international scale, enforcement agencies and officials have taken note of the need for increased awareness and improved safety measures. In April 2007, the United Nations held their first Global Road Safety Week which was intended to increase public awareness of the aforementioned statistics and to lessen the numbers of road traffic crashes that occur on a global scale (and the UN didn’t stop there – they intend to hold a Global Summit on Road Safety in the Russian Federation within the coming months.

Quite obviously, my cause for concern is legit. Driving on foreign roads has proven to increase the likelihood that a traffic accident will occur and (knowing this) drivers need to adjust accordingly. It’s not enough to just be aware of the differences in rules and regulations from country to country; instead, you need to remain aware. Pay attention and don’t allow yourself the opportunity to ‘slip up’ while driving; though you can’t control the actions of other drivers, you can control your own.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Megan Roth

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on February 16, 2009 (boomark / email).