Even when considering population size, miles traveled, and number of registered vehicles, the US consistently ranked poorly relative to other high-income countries for crash deaths. Some of the best performing countries:
- Have policies in line with best practices, including those that address:
- Primary enforcement of seat belt laws that cover everyone in every seat.
- Requirements for car seats and booster seats for child passengers through at least age 8.
- Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) levels.
- US, Canada and the United Kingdom define drunk driving as BAC levels at 0.08% or above; all other comparison countries use lower BAC levels (0.02-0.05%).
- Use advanced engineering and technology, such as:
- Ignition interlocks for all people convicted of drunk driving.
- Automated enforcement, for example, speed and red light cameras.
- Improvements in vehicle safety and transportation infrastructure.