SA’s deadly roads make world’s worst list

Souuth Africa has made it onto the list of the most dangerous countries in the world to drive in. The list, published by The Telegraph, is based on the number of road fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants per year.

Most of the bottom 10 – including Eritrea, the deadliest driving destination, according to the World Health Organisation’s figures (with 48.4 deaths per 100 000 residents), Libya (40.5) and Iraq (31.5) – are unlikely to feature on the travel itineraries of most people.

But a couple – such as South Africa (31.9) and Thailand (38.1) – are popular holiday destinations.

Relatively risky roads can also be found in Ecuador, Vietnam, Brazil, Paraguay, Kenya and Laos. Other notable findings include the fact that Portugal is less safe than the rest of Western Europe and that the US is twice as dangerous as Canada.

The safest places to drive include the Maldives (1.9 deaths, though the lack of roads probably helps), Norway (2.9), Denmark (3), Sweden (3) and Switzerland (3.4). Britain is just behind, with only 3.5 fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants per year.

But they are all outshone by San Marino, which recorded not a single death for the year in question.

The 10 safest places to drive:

1 San Marino – 0 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants

2 Micronesia – 1.8

3 Maldives – 1.9

4 Norway – 2.9

5 Sweden – 3

6 Denmark – 3

7 Palestinian territories – 3.2

8 Israel – 3.3

9 Switzerland – 3.4

10 UK – 3.5

The 10 most dangerous places to drive

1 Eritrea – 48.4 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants

2 Dominican Republic – 41.7

3 Libya – 40.5

4 Thailand – 38.1

5 Venezuela – 37.2

6 Nigeria – 33.7

7 South Africa – 31.9

8 Iraq – 31.5

9 Guinea-Bissau – 31.2

10 Oman – 30.4