The data in the Wikipedia article you cite can also be sorted by road fatalities by 1 billion vehicle/kms. This accounts for variance in population, auto ownership, and amount of driving.
Country and traffic fatalities per 1b veh/kms.
United Arab Emirates 310
Brazil 55.9
Slovakia 24.5
South Korea 22.8
Bulgaria 19.1
Estonia 17.5
Cyprus 16.7
Czech Republic 15.7
Malaysia 13.8
Spain 8.5
New Zealand 8.3
Japan 8.3
Belgium 7.7
United States of America 7.6
Slovenia 7.6
Austria 6.9
France 6.3
Canada 6.1
Switzerland 5.6
Israel 5.2
Australia 5.2
Germany 4.9
Netherlands 4.9
Malta 4.9
Finland 4.7
United Kingdom 4.3
Iceland 3.8
Sweden 3.7
Ireland 3.4
Denmark 3.4
Norway 3.3
As usual, everyone in the Nordics is home counting bullion, so nothing going on there. But among the more vibrant quarters the U.S. doesn't seem especially dangerous.
The United Arab Emirates at 310 seems like an outlier but if you search for areb drift on youtube you can get a hang of what is really going on.
I live in Brasil, which, unsurprisingly ranks pretty high as well. Bad roads and unsafe vehicles explain part of the problem; but what I think accounts for the gist of it is something I haven't seen commented here: people speed because they want to be faster than other people. The speed limit merely makes this easier by limiting risk averse or society minded people.
I stoped driving long distances a year ago because it was stressing me out and because a car here is too expensive (compared to bus for long distances and taxi for short ones).
What I noticed in myself and in drivers around me was that traffic was regarded as a competition. Being faster was better. If someone was faster than you you'd be passive-aggressive towards him/her (mostly him). Brasil ranks 2nd (to last) on this list because of the way we view cars: they are really expensive, even in an expensive country such as ours. They are regarded as a life milestone, one of the main goal in our lives. They become a way of posing yourself as superior to the masses. This results in a more competitive traffic. Closing people off, tailgating and speeding (50% more than the limit - above this you risk losing your license and get fined for about $500) are the bread and butter of a good sum of our drivers. Our national speed limit is 120kmph (75mph).
Why do most people speed slightly? Is it because of the time they will save? I bet most don't even look at their watches while doing so. For a fixed distance, the speed x time is a hyperbole, which means diminishing returns for greater speeds for distances greater than the value of your speed. I posit that the gain is not time, but a better position at an acceptable risk in a competitive game we call transit.
In New Zealand, the posted speed limit is often too high for the road. If you drive the speed limit, YOU WILL CRASH AND DIE - frequently taking another car with you.
This is because:
1) Very few divided highways
2) Blanket speed limit of 100kph on open roads
3) Fun road obstacles - hairpin turns, single lane bridges, blind corners and no shoulder drops down cliffs.
Wow, I was thinking just that. It's the only place i've seen posting a 100km/h limit on a narrow, barely two lane winding road, hugging a cliff. It was almost like a dare. The speed I felt safe at was no more than 50 km/h
Interesting to see Germany with 4.9 below the US with 7.6. In Germany, long stretches of quite a few Autobahns do not have a speed-limit at all. There are, of course, other differences between driving in the US and in Germany.
source: I have been driving in both countries for more than 8 years; moved to the US little more than 8 years ago.
