[quote=qwerty007]Here we go again with simpleton bias. First they changed the way fuel efficiency is measured so the Smart car suddenly doesn’t look so efficient anymore, and now they’ve done a crash test that shows it up in the worst possible light. This little car, is a Mercedes project, went through very rigorous testing, and has been in use in Europe for years. While you might feel safer riding an elephant in the jungle, it’s going to dump a lot of s*** in your back yard. Aside from that the probability of this type of accident happening is remote, and can be more effectively avoided simply by upping the driving test standard, more road safety awareness, and improving road markings, signage etc etc. For example, there are 13 times more fatal accident in the US than the UK, which has a very tough driving test, and government backed road safety awareness schemes. The days of the gas guzzler are pretty much numbered. To me it is incredible that a failing auto industry so out of touch with reality, is still wielding its sword at shadows. [/quote]
qwerty007, you didn’t provide the next sentence in the article that you were quoting:
Yes, 13x more than UK, but US is 40x bigger than UK.
And the EU statistics are not much different than ours:
“Out of the total accidents in the EU, 67% are in the urban areas and in 75% of the total accidents, the driver is male. Young drivers between age 18 and 25 are involved in more than 21% of the total accidents and fatalities. Research shows that most of the accidents occur due to reckless driving and intoxication. Other than this, there are large numbers of rollover accidents involving young adults and teenage drivers. The number of accidents due to intoxication is also increasing continuously. In the US, about 70 to 80 people die every day due to accidents related to alcohol.”
I am searching to find the statistics of % of EU population are licensed drivers with vehicles between the ages of 18 and 30 or so. My guess is due to the high cost of fuel and the EU’s mass transit system, more people use alternate modes of transportation than in the US.
I would guess the best statistic would be accidents and/or fatalities per miles driven. I am quite sure the average US driver drives many more miles then the average EU driver.
Hunting I will go…
Edit:
This data shows EU countries have 2x more fatalities than US due to Motorized two wheelers.
This data shows US has about 2x more vehicles per capital than most EU nation including UK. Italy and Germany is higher than most. US has almost 1 car per person.
And here is the best of all “Traffic deaths per 1 billion vehicle kilometres in individual representations since 1970”. US shows the best safety record than most. Sweden and Norway also very good (must be those Volvos). Although, most countries have caught up to US.
