Road Safety for International Travelers

Travelers plan around the things that frighten them and drive to dinner without thinking about it. The CDC’s assessment is blunt: motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death among travelers. Almost all of the risk is concentrated in a few habits (night driving, no seat belt, motorcycles, crowded minibuses) and every one of them is a choice you can make differently.

What You Need to Know

The scale of it

The World Health Organization records approximately 1.16 million road deaths a year worldwide, with between 20 and 50 million more people injured. Road traffic injury is the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5 to 29. More than half of those killed are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists rather than people inside cars.

The distribution matters more to a traveler than the total. WHO records that 92% of the world’s road fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries, even though those countries have around 60% of the world’s vehicles. That is not a statement about drivers. It is a statement about road design, vehicle condition, enforcement and how far away the nearest trauma care is.

Why a crash abroad is worse than a crash at home

The crash is only the first event. What follows is an ambulance that may not come, a hospital that may be hours away, a trauma unit that may not exist, a police process in a language you do not read, and an insurer who needs to be reached from a country where your phone may not work. The same collision that is survivable at home can be fatal somewhere with a two-hour transfer to definitive care. This is why prevention carries so much more weight abroad than it does at home.

The CDC’s list, which is short on purpose

The CDC’s traffic and road safety guidance for travelers reduces to a handful of behaviors: always wear a seat belt and use appropriate car seats for children, which you may have to bring; do not drive at night, especially in unfamiliar or rural areas; do not ride motorcycles, and if you must, wear a helmet; know local traffic laws before driving; do not drink and drive; only ride in marked taxis and wear a seat belt where one is available; avoid overcrowded, overweight or top-heavy buses and vans; and do not use a phone while driving.

Nothing on that list requires equipment, money or planning. It requires deciding in advance, because each of them is a decision you will otherwise make while tired, in a hurry, and under mild social pressure.

You are a pedestrian more often than you think

More than half of road deaths worldwide are vulnerable road users, and a traveler spends a great deal of time walking in unfamiliar traffic. The CDC’s pedestrian advice is worth as much as its driving advice: cross at designated crossings, use a sidewalk or path, and where there is none, walk facing oncoming traffic so you can see what is coming. Carry a flashlight and wear something reflective at night. Do not walk with earbuds in, and do not walk after drinking.

One habit is specific to Americans abroad: in a country that drives on the left, you will look the wrong way first. Assume it, and look both ways twice at every crossing for the first few days.

What the country corpus says

Of the 211 destinations the State Department publishes country information for, 113 describe their roads as poor, unpaved, deteriorating or poorly maintained, 85 address travel or driving at night, 109 mention seat belts or helmets and 55 address driving under the influence. These are counts of destinations whose transportation information addresses a subject, not a ranking. Read your own.

What to Do Before Your Trip

• Read the transportation section of the State Department country information for your destination.
• Decide whether you are driving at all, and if so read driving in another country.
• Check your insurance covers medical evacuation, which is what a serious road injury actually needs. See what travel insurance covers.
• Bring car seats if you are traveling with small children. Assume they will not be available.
• Save the local emergency number; it is not 911 in most of the world. See emergency contacts to carry.

Important Considerations

The rule about night driving is not negotiable advice

It is the single highest-value habit on the list. Unlit roads, unmarked hazards, animals, pedestrians in dark clothing, vehicles with no working lights and drivers who have been awake for twenty hours all compound after dark, and the emergency response that is thin by day is thinner by night. Plan itineraries that put you where you are sleeping before sunset, and treat an arrival that requires a night road transfer as a reason to change the flight.

Motorcycles and scooters

The rented scooter is the most common way a holiday becomes a medical evacuation. The CDC says plainly not to ride. If you are going to anyway, wear a helmet you would trust at home, not the one on the hook, and check whether your travel insurance excludes motorcycle injuries. Many policies do, which turns a crash into an uninsured one.

Tips for Group Travelers

• Set the rules once, out loud, at the start. Seat belts, no motorcycles, no night road transfers. A group that has heard the reasoning enforces itself.
• Vet the vehicle, not just the operator. Working seat belts in every seat is a reasonable, checkable condition of hire.
• Do not let the schedule create a night drive. The pressure to press on to the next town after a delay is exactly where groups get hurt.
• One person carries the medical and insurance information for everyone, and a second person has a copy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Treating the seat belt as optional in a taxi. It is the same crash.
• Assuming an ambulance will come. In much of the world, a passing car is the ambulance.
• Booking a late arrival with a long road transfer. Two risks stacked for the sake of one cheaper fare.
• Getting into an overloaded minibus because everyone else is. Overcrowded, overweight and top-heavy is the CDC’s exact wording.
• Assuming your policy covers a scooter. Check before you rent, not after.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it safe to drive abroad?

It depends entirely on where, and the honest answer is that in many destinations the risk is meaningfully higher than at home. Read the transportation section of your destination’s country information, and treat not driving as a legitimate option rather than a failure.

Do I really need to avoid driving at night?

Outside built-up areas, yes. It is the CDC’s explicit advice and the most commonly repeated warning in the State Department’s own country transportation information. It is raised by 85 of 211 destinations.

Are taxis safer than driving myself?

Usually, because a local driver knows the roads, the customs and the hazards. The CDC still qualifies it: only ride in marked taxis, and wear a seat belt where one is available.

My insurance covers medical care. Is that enough?

Not necessarily. A serious road injury often needs evacuation to a hospital that can treat it, which is a separate and expensive line of cover. See medical insurance abroad.

What about renting a motorcycle or scooter?

The CDC says do not. If you do, wear a proper helmet and check your policy for a motorcycle exclusion first.

Related Travel Tips

• Getting around and transportation, the section this guide belongs to.
• Driving in Another Country
• Taxis and Ride-Hailing Abroad
• Travel Safety Checklist
• Medical Emergencies Abroad

Verify Before You Travel