One in three American deaths overseas due to car crashes, says new study

(Washington, DC) – Make Roads Safe – The Campaign for Global Road Safety, today released a first-of-its-kind analysis of State Department data that ranks road crashes as the leading cause of death for healthy Americans traveling abroad.

In observance of the first United Nation’s Global Road Safety Week, April 23-29, Make Roads Safe released the report titled, “Road Crash Deaths of American Travelers: The Make Roads Safe Report; An Analysis of U.S. State Department Data on Unnatural Causes of Death to U.S. Citizens Abroad (2004-2006)”. The report revealed that road traffic crashes cause twice as many deaths as each of the next greatest risks which were homicides and other accidents.

“When we travel, we protect ourselves with vaccines and we’re careful about what we eat and drink, but the real hidden danger is being killed on the road,” said Dr. Bella Dinh-Zarr, North American Director of Make Roads Safe and author of the new report.

Today’s report shows that nearly one-third of the reported deaths of healthy Americans overseas are due to traffic crashes. The majority of the deaths (77%) were in low- and middle- income countries. Among road crashes by type, the greatest number occurred in automobiles (73%) followed by motorcycles (12%), and pedestrians (7%).

“The death of Americans on roads overseas is just one symptom of the road crash epidemic around the world,” added Dinh-Zarr. “This is a public health, transportation, and human rights issue. And we’re not just talking about numbers – each death and injury has a devastating effect on a family so we need to act now or millions will suffer.”

The non-profit Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT) is one organization dedicated to preventing families from experiencing the pain of the death of a loved one on the road. “Our organization was founded in Aron’s memory,” said Rochelle Sobel who founded ASIRT after her 25 year-old son was killed in a crash while traveling in Turkey. “I hope that someday, due to all of our efforts, it will be a gentler world, a world in which all children return home safely.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 1.2 million people are killed each year on the world's roads, with 43,000 deaths here in the U.S. Road crash deaths are expected to double in less than 15 years, with the majority if the burden in lower income countries.

“We have the tools to make roads safer,” said Dr. Eugenia Rodrigues, Regional Advisor for Road Safety for the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, “from building safer road infrastructure such as pedestrian crosswalks and safer intersections to promoting seat belt and helmet use and reducing drinking and driving.”

One of those individuals who traveled to Washington to tell his story is Mr. Ken Welch of Shreveport, LA. Welch has lived abroad and traveled the world extensively and was injured in a serious car crash in Vietnam. “I was broadsided at night at an intersection in Ho Chi Minh City by a speeding car with no headlights,” recalls Welch. “I have seen many crashes occur in Asian countries involving Americans because they simply were not expecting a darkened car zooming through an unlit intersection at night.”

To help protect travelers overseas, Make Roads Safe offers the following top five tips:

1. Plan Ahead – Know your route and method of transportation ahead of time;


2. Don’t Travel at Night – Low visibility and differing driving customs (like lack of headlight use) greatly increase your risk of a crash;


3. Use Mass Transportation – Mass Transportation, especially trains and subways is generally safer than driving yourself in an unfamiliar environment;


4. Pay Attention to Traffic Patterns and Local Customs – Watch the local residents, especially as a pedestrian and at intersections and know the laws and customs before your trip, and


5. Follow the same safety rules you follow at home – Always wear your safety belt, never drink and drive and do not speed.

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