Being a Road Worrier Can Help Trip Planning

The number of auto accident fatalities has been declining in recent years, yet statistics are still sobering for travelers making vacation plans. More than 22,000 people died in car and taxi accidents in the United States in 1991 (the most recent year for which statistics are available), according to the National Safety Council.

In our travel planning, it helps to know which states and countries pose the greatest risks, which are safest, which cars hold up best in accidents, and under what circumstances it is statistically safer to fly than to drive.

In the United States, it is safer to drive on limited-access highways, such as interstates, than on other roads, according to Michael Sivak, a research scientist at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. And driving in certain states and countries is statistically safer than others.

Among the safest U.S. states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Virginia, according to the National Safety Council, which gathers motor vehicle death statistics from each state and then calculates the rate of fatal accidents per mile driven for each. California is termed relatively safe, according to NSC statistics, as are Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota and Washington. Arizona and Nevada are classified as more hazardous for drivers. And deemed least safe by the NSC, because of the higher number of per-capita fatalities, are New Mexico, Arkansas, Alaska and West Virginia.

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In Europe, the United Kingdom and Netherlands are among the countries with the lowest auto fatality rates, according to John M. Allen of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Assn. Allen cited information from the British Department of Transport’s International Road Traffic and Accident Database, which tracks road deaths in selected countries, including Europe.

Both countries reported 1.9 road deaths per 10,000 motor vehicles in 1991. In other countries, the deaths per 10,000 vehicles were: West Germany, 2.0; Italy, 2.2; Luxembourg, 3.5; France, 3.6; Belgium, 3.7, and the Irish Republic, 4.0. Less safe are Spain, with 5.0 deaths per 10,000 motor vehicles, and Greece, with 6.8.

Whether you are renting or buying, choosing a safe car can also reduce the chance of accident and death. Many organizations test cars for safety, but among the most respected sources are Consumers Union, publishers of Consumer Reports, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the Department of Transportation.

Each year, Consumers Union rates cars for safety and publishes those findings in its April car evaluation issue. Cars are rated for both passenger and driver protection, as well as on how well the passenger compartment holds up in an accident. Among 1993 vehicles, for example, 14 cars and trucks received better than average ratings (the highest possible) in all three categories, while only two vehicles (Chevrolet Astro and GMC Safari minivans) got the worst possible ratings for driver and passenger protection.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also tests domestic and foreign passenger cars and light trucks. For detailed information on a specific crash test, by model, consumers can call the agency’s toll-free Auto Safety Hotline, (800) 424-9393, and ask that findings be mailed to them.

If traveling with children in a rental car, make sure the car will contain a child safety seat. If the rental car company cannot provide one, take one along. Child safety seats reduce minor injury by half, Hoskin said, and trim the death risk by 70%.

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Ask rental personnel for specific directions to your next destination and, when traveling overseas, ask about signs and roadways peculiar to the country you are visiting, suggested Ardis Berghoff, a spokeswoman for Budget Rent a Car. Many accidents that occur to U.S. travelers driving overseas occur because of lack of familiarity with local driving habits and road systems, she said.

Sometimes, the safest way to travel isn’t by car.

“You are 32 times more likely to die in a car crash than in a plane crash, given the same amount of miles,” Hoskin said. Add that some of us are less than perfect drivers and that some drivers take the wheel while under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and the open road becomes a little less inviting.

If you haven’t yet decided to fly or drive, calculate your risk, Sivak said. According to his research, risk is affected by the number of airplane stopovers and total trip length. For example: the average driver traveling more than 37 miles is safer on a non-stop flight than driving.

If the flight has two legs, the average driver is safer flying than driving if the trip is more than 74 miles. If the flight has three legs, we are safer flying if the trip is more than 111 miles. Yet risk also depends, Sivak said, on the traveler’s driving habits. The worse the driver, the safer it can be to fly.

The Healthy Traveler appears the second and fourth week of every month.