While there is a marked decrease in the number of fatalities due to vehicular accidents in Singapore, according to one motor insurance provider, motorists may be driving more dangerously than those in other developed countries.

Data from the Singapore Traffic Police shows a downward trend in road accident fatalities since 2012. However, motor insurer Budget Direct Insurance highlighted a study by market research firm ValuePenguin, which indicates Singaporeans may be driving more dangerously than their counterparts in the US, Japan, the UK, and Canada.

Car ownership is quite low in Singapore at 42% of households as of 2013. By comparison, the US has 88%, South Korea has 83%, and Japan has 81%. This means that a smaller proportion of the population use private cars compared to other countries, so their chances of getting into a car accident are much lower.

On a per vehicle basis, Singapore fares worse. In 2015, it had 15.8 fatalities per 100,000 motor vehicles, almost three times higher than Japan, which had 5.3 fatalities per 100,000 vehicles. It also exceeded the US, which had 10.9 per 100,000.

The data shows that while fewer people in Singapore are at risk of getting into a car accident, those that do use cars are more likely to figure in a fatal car accident than those in other countries.

“This report throws up some interesting facts that we should take seriously,” commented Simon Birch, CEO of Budget Direct Insurance. “I feel it is important for us as an insurer and a champion of safe driving to bring the findings of this report to people’s attention.”


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