Road deaths in the United States have fallen much more slowly than in other rich countries
The United States continues to lag behind other high-income nations in reducing road traffic fatalities. Experts attribute the disparity to differences in road safety infrastructure and driving habits.
Why it matters
It highlights a significant public health issue and the potential efficacy of policy interventions like speed cameras and urban design.
Download Most high-income countries have reduced road deaths substantially over the past decades. But the United States has made much less progress than other rich countries, and has even gone backward since the mid-2010s.
In this chart, I compare the trends for the US and a selection of other high-income countries to illustrate this point.
Consider Germany, which provides a useful comparison. In 1980, the US had about 25 road deaths per 100,000 people, and Germany had 22. But in the decades that followed, Germany’s rate fell steadily, while the US rate declined more slowly, and even rose again. In 2023, the last year in the data, the US rate was more than 4 times Germany’s.
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