Becoming a Road Scholar to Boost Safety

Whether the planned summer vacation is in Illinois, France or Egypt, exploring by car, tour bus and taxi has never been easier. Yet the risks accompanying driving trips are vastly underestimated by most travelers, who tend to worry more about catching exotic diseases than about injuries on the road.

Each year, about 750 Americans die on foreign roads and an estimated 25,000 are injured, according to H. Daniel Roth of Roth Associates, a statistical consulting firm in Rockville, Md. In the United States, 43,000 people died in motor vehicle traffic accidents in 1994, the most recent year for which statistics are available, according to the National Safety Council.

But travelers who educate themselves about high-risk regions and who learn the right questions to ask before renting a car or taking a tour bus or taxi can reduce their chances of injury or death, experts said.

Some countries are probably safer than others.

In 1994, Egypt reported 44.1 deaths and 222 injuries, per 100 million kilometers of driving (about 62 million miles), according to a spokesman for the International Road Federation (IRF), a Washington, D.C.-based, nonprofit group that monitors road safety abroad.

By comparison, other countries reported the following death and injury rates to IRF, during the years 1992-95.

England, 0.9 deaths, 74 injuries; United States, 1.1 deaths, 95 injuries; Ireland, 1.7 deaths, 38 injuries; France, 1.8 deaths, 39 injuries; Italy, 1.9 deaths, 63 injuries; Germany, 2.0 deaths, 90 injuries; Spain, 4.18 deaths, 85 injuries.

In the United States, for 1994, the latest year for which figures are available, Mississippi had the highest rate of traffic deaths, with 2.9 deaths per 100 million miles. Nevada and Arkansas each had 2.5 deaths for the same distance. Several states had a 2.3 death rate: Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, South Carolina and Tennessee. California’s rate was 1.5.

Beyond knowing death and injury statistics, there is much a traveler can do to improve the chances for a safe trip.

“Learn the safest form of travel” in each country to be visited, said Rochelle Sobel of the Assn. for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT), another organization that tracks road safety abroad.

When traveling by bus, Sobel said, passengers should collectively “insist that the driver be responsible” or demand that the bus be stopped so passengers can disembark. “Individually, report reckless driving to the bus company or embassy.” Similar tactics could be used with reckless cab drivers, she said.

“When renting a car, insist on certain things ahead of time,” Sobel said. A list would include that cars be equipped with seat belts, shoulder lap belts and air bags, if possible. “Check the tires, brakes and headlights. Ask when it was last inspected.”

Car rental firms have boosted safety efforts, spokespersons said. In the United States and in parts of Europe, Avis has equipped much of its rental fleet with daytime running lights, said spokesman Terry Gordon, since vehicle collisions and injuries have declined in countries requiring the lights. Avis also distributes a safety leaflet that informs drivers of local and state driving rules and speed limits.

Review vehicle controls before leaving the rental area, said Lauren Kelly, spokeswoman for Hertz Corp.

Ask tourist boards or auto clubs about local holidays and minimize road travel accordingly, especially when holidays involve drinking.

Be aware of local rules of the road. On the German autobahn, for example, the suggested speed limit for cars without trailers is 81 mph and 50 mph for cars towing trailers, although there is no speed limit unless posted, according to the German National Tourist Office. On regular highways, the speed limit drops to 62 mph and in cities and towns to 31 mph.

In Ireland, it is illegal for children under 12 to travel in the front seat, according to the Automobile Assn. of Ireland. Children under 3 must be in a child safety seat and harness and seat belts are mandatory for everyone.

Avoiding night driving in Ireland can also reduce the risk of injury and death, said Mary Duke of the Irish Tourist Board. Nearly a third of all fatalities there occur between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., the hours most associated with drunken driving, she said.

“Avoid night travel in countries with poor safety records or mountainous terrain,” Sobel said. The idea of maximizing touring and sightseeing time by sleeping on tour buses at night may sound good, but the trade-off is an increased accident risk.

At the outset of a journey, ask about local hazards, such as mudslides or rock slides.

In New Hampshire and Maine, moose are an increasingly serious hazard, according to a report in this month’s Archives of Surgery. Dr. Timothy M. Farrell from the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., and his colleagues analyzed 23 patients involved in such collisions from 1980 through 1991.

Collisions with moose, which weigh as much as 1,200 pounds, are most frequent after dark, April through October.

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