Norway came out as the safest country to drive in in our ranking, with just 2.7 fatalities on the roads per 100,000 people, fewer than any other country. That’s over ten times fewer deaths than in the likes of Thailand, where there were 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people. Norway also had one of the highest levels of people wearing seat-belts, with 95.2%.

Taking second place was Japan. One of the standout factors for Japan was the incredibly high level of people choosing to put safety first by wearing a seatbelt, with 98%. The country also had a low death toll of just 4.1 road deaths per 100,000 people, which is impressive given the number of people and vehicles in major cities such as Tokyo, although many choose to take public transport.

Sweden was the third safest of the countries that we looked at, with just 2.8 deaths per 100,000 people, which falls behind only Switzerland and nearby Norway. Despite the often wintry conditions, roads in Sweden are generally well looked after and safe, as shown by the figures!

Taking all of the factors into account, South Africa was the most dangerous of the countries that we looked at, scoring relatively poorly across the board. In particular, South Africa had a very high ratio of road accident deaths which involved alcohol, with 57.5%. They also had the second-highest number of road accident deaths too, with 25.9 per 100,000 people.

Thailand reported a worryingly high number of deaths on the roads, with 32.7 per 100,000 people, more than any other country that we looked at. As well as often chaotic streets with poorly maintained roads, Thailand has a max speed limit of 120 kph (75 mph) on motorways and a relatively lenient drink-drive limit of 0.05g/dl.

It may be something of a surprise, but the USA came out as the third most dangerous of the countries which we looked at. Along with the UK, the US was actually the country with the most lenient drink-drive policy, with drivers permitted up to 0.08g/dl of alcohol in their system. In addition, some parts of the country have a maximum speed limit of up to 130 kph (80 mph), with highway in Texas even allowing speeds of up to 137 kph (85 mph).