Sweden has been ranked as the safest drivers in a recent study comparing Sweden and 19 other countries and their death accidents on the road. This is no accident either.
Sweden has invested in the vision of having zero (yep, ZERO) accidents on the roads with their Vision Zero Initiative. It happens to be working. Now other countries can turn to Sweden to see what they are doing right, and hopefully save more lives.
Check out Vision Zero’s video on how they are looking at the issue of road safety.
One thing is for certain. It takes a lot more to get a driver’s license in Sweden than it does in the United States. Many Europeans have commented on how ridiculously easy it is for American’s to get a license to drive a car. Not only that, in Europe one must be 18 vs the young 16 we have in the United States (some States let children start driving as young as 14!)
As this great Canadian article puts it, (which inspired this blog post):
Obtaining a driver’s license in Sweden as a novice driver is no easy task. You can only take lessons from a heavily vetted instructor, and for supervised driving with your learner’s permit, Mom or Dad only qualify if they take a course in supervised driving with you.
The theory test contains 65 questions and you have a maximum 50 minutes to complete it. You must get no more than 13 wrong to pass.
There is definitely something to say about what Sweden is doing in order to decrease driving deaths while increasing the number of people on the road. Way to go Sweden!
Vision Zero is going one step further. 1 million people die around the world every year. They are looking to not only increase safety in Sweden, but to share their knowledge with the world.
Every year, more than 1 million people die in traffic-related accidents around the world. For people aged between 15 and 29, road traffic accidents are the most common way to die.
Looking at not only how we educate our drivers, but how our roads are constructed and vehicle safety are all a part of Vision Zero’s initiative.
Check out their website to find out more of how Sweden is saving lives on the road.
