Caution: Dangerous Travel Abroad

Terrorism, plague and crime notwithstanding, the biggest hazard facing the overseas business traveler may be the road.

That’s the view of a nonprofit organization called the Assn. for Safe International Road Travel, which believes travelers are being kept in the dark, both by neglect and deception, about the risks of traveling by car and bus in many countries.

Rochelle Sobel, who formed the organization after her son died in a bus accident in Turkey last year, said accident information is not available for some countries and for others is out-of-date and questionable.

Although official travel sources such as the U.S. State Department and some guidebooks emphasize the risks from disease and crime, she said, “the fact is that the vast majority of people who die abroad die as a result of road accidents.”

Utilizing a variety of databases, Sobel lists these as the 10 most unsafe countries for road travel, among frequently visited countries for which some statistics are available:

Egypt, Kenya, Latvia, Turkey, Morocco, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Honduras, Costa Rica and Mexico.

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“Mexico has not given statistics since 1991, and we suspect it’s gotten worse,” Sobel said.

“Other countries we know are bad but for which we have no information are Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Greece, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland and Singapore.

“When it comes to the safest, the Scandinavian countries, Canada and Britain are as good as or better than the United States,” Sobel said.

The U.S. has a highway death rate of 1.3 to 1.4 per 100 million vehicle kilometers, she said, using a standard international measurement for road accidents.

“In Greece, it’s about 9, so your chance of getting killed on the road there is about eight times higher than the United States. In Egypt, it’s 43--or 42 times greater. For Kenya, it’s 38--or 37 times higher,” she said.

Sobel said the State Department, in releasing information to travelers, has not taken a consistent approach to road safety data, although that may be changing. She said some guidebooks now pay closer attention to accident problems.

Information on specific countries can be obtained by writing to ASIRT, 5413 W. Cedar Lane, Suite 103C, Bethesda, MD 20814. The phone number is (301) 983-5252, fax is (301) 983-3663.

There is also a Web site at https://www.horizon-web.com/asirt/

In general, the organization recommends that night travel be avoided, especially in mountainous terrain and in countries with poor safety records.

“Another big issue is the quality of medical care and the availability of ambulances. That should be one of the first priorities for a traveler to check out,” Sobel said.

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Delta Air Lines has become the first airline to offer in-flight power sources for laptop computers.

Delta will offer the EmPower In-Seat Power Supply system to first-class passengers on a single Boeing 767 during a six-month test.

The EmPower system, developed by Olin Aerospace Co., provides a power source directly at the seat via a standard interface cable, which allows passengers to operate and recharge computers in-flight. The cable, based on a common automobile adapter, can be used with most popular laptop models.

Olin’s aerospace division is based in Redmond, Wash.