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The International Perspective
Canada and the world
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Comparing safety records of individual countries is a complex task. A
lot depends on the size of the country and distances traveled, traveling
habits, numbers of vehicles on the road, and population density.
Based on the number of deaths per registered vehicle, Canada ranks
eighth out of the 29 member countries of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD). |
Fatality rates per 10,000 motor vehicles
registered
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| One thing can be agreed on: OECD countries with better safety records
have also made significant commitments to improving roads, vehicles and
public perception of acceptable road-user behaviour. |
Fatality Rates, 1970-1997
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Competing for global leadership
Professionals who adopt and further Road Safety Vision 2001 goals will help
improve Canada's position as a world leader in road safety. They face, however,
a dual challenge: The first is to improve Canada's road safety performance. The
second is to measure these improvements against other countries with ambitious
programs of their own.
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Transportation leaders
in the top-ranked countries keep working to make their roads
safer, raising the bar for Canada.
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Sweden has adopted a program called Vision Zero, with a goal that no one be
seriously injured or killed in traffic collisions. By 2000, Great Britain aims
to reduce traffic casualties by one third. In 1997, Switzerland achieved its
lowest fatality figures since World War II. Japan considers it has already
achieved its reduced traffic fatality target for the beginning of the 21st
century. Australia recorded its lowest level of traffic fatalities per
registered vehicle in 1997. The Netherlands aims to halve road deaths, compared
to 1986 levels, early in the 21st century. Germany has seen traffic fatalities
decrease 24 per cent between 1991 and 1997. In 1996, Finland almost reached its
goal to halve the number of traffic fatalities by the end of the 1990s. And the
United States is working to increase seat belt use to 90 per cent and decrease
alcohol-related driving fatalities by 37 per cent by 2005, compared with 1994.
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