New Infographic Explores The Possibility That Left Side Of The Road Driving Is Safer

New Infographic Explores The Possibility That Left Side Of The Road Driving Is Safer
Linda Moore
3/13/2014
Updated:
4/23/2016

A new infographic, brought to you by HCA Lawyers, explores the possibility that left side of the road driving is safer than the right side. One hundred and sixty-six countries around the globe drive on the right while only 74 countries drive on the left side of the road but the majority may be wrong.

The infographic tallies up automobile accident statistics from four separate countries: Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Then, it divides the statistics from these countries in two separate subcategories: Australia and the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. Australia and the United Kingdom were picked since they drive on the left, while the United States and Germany were chosen because people drive on the right side of the road in these countries. The data was compiled in order to determine which side of the road is safer.

In order to draw any meaningful conclusions from the data, a multitude of factors must be considered. Variables such as the condition of the driver, terrain, the time of accidents, road condition, vehicle speed and weather conditions must be painstakingly accounted for. Likewise, different countries have different populations, driving cultures, road distances and widths to be considered. None of these things are the same between these countries.

The Australian Driving Infographic separates the data and formats it pictorially so it is easy to understand and entertaining. Conclusions have been drawn through careful analysis of some of the data and patterns have emerged. Variables such as speed limits, number of traffic accidents, the number of vehicles in the country, the kilometers of highway, accidents per vehicle in a given country and average crash speeds were involved in the analysis.

A compelling correlation was found between the amount of accidents, particularly fatal ones, and right side road driving. The two countries where right side driving is the law, the United States and Germany, showed a significantly higher number of fatal crashes and motor vehicle accidents. Using 100 million miles driven as constant and measuring fatalities in automobile accidents, 111 fatal accidents happened in the United States per one million people and 85 fatalities happened in Germany per one million people. This compares to only 38 per one million people in the United Kingdom and just 50 fatalities per million people in Australia, using these metrics.

It would seem left side driving is the safer option. Clearly, only a small amount of data was used to come to this conclusion but the infographic contains much more; 31 separate data sets to be exact. The information is laid out in an appealing, easy to understand manner along with other interesting facts. Fascinating information on hand dexterity and right-left eye dominance are also explored. One thing is certain even without going over all the numbers; it is much safer to drive on the same side of the road that everyone else is driving on.

I am a freelance writer and enjoy reporting on a variety of topics.
Related Topics