Re: Now is that "10 per cent better than humans" or "10 per cent better than American humans?"
if Americans have to spend a lot more time behind the wheel on average than the British do, then it could be that the fatality rate per hours driven is equivalent, even though the per-capita rate is higher.
Per mile driven, the US still has far higher fatalities. However you cut the figures, the US has amongst the worst road safety records of developed nations (check out OECD IRTAD data). Poor driving standards are probably the main contributor, but I'm with you that the US aversion to roundabouts, and excessive use of flat junctions on high speed roads are another major contributor, and these poor road layouts are very unforgiving of poor driving standards. We should also bear in mind the federal nature of the US which introduces unnecessary inter-state variations that certainly won't help matters, albeit a dick in Minnesota is probably still a dick in California.
What's particularly bad about the US casualties, is that they aren't making much progress in improving road safety - casualties per 100k km data shows the situation getting marginally worse between 2010-2015, whereas other poor performers (Czech Republic, NZ, Belgium, Korea) all achieved 10-20% improvements. The US is also particularly poor for road fatalities affecting the elderly, with death rates per capita 5x the best performing countries, although as proportion of fatalities the US sees fewer pedestrians killed than European nations, perhaps as you'd expect from a nation that drive everywhere.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
