The U.S. Ranked Second Among the Riskiest Popular Countries for Driving, New Study Finds

Zego analyzed road deaths, injuries, speed limits, alcohol laws, and road quality in popular travel destinations.

Rental cars can make a trip easier, especially if you’re trying to reach small towns, beaches, national parks, or countryside hotels. They can also add a layer of stress when the rules of the road are different from what you’re used to.

A new analysis from Zego looked at 10 countries popular with UK travelers and ranked them based on road fatalities, injuries, speed limits, legal blood alcohol limits, and road quality. The study is not a global ranking of every country with risky roads, but several destinations on the list are major favorites for American travelers, too.

Before renting a car abroad, travelers should check whether they need an international driving permit, what side of the road they’ll be driving on, and whether their rental car insurance actually covers damage, theft, roadside assistance, and liability.

Alcohol limits can also vary sharply by country. So can signage, speed enforcement, toll roads, and roundabout rules. Even if the destination itself feels familiar, driving there may not.

Sten Saar, CEO of Zego, said driving abroad can bring “a completely different risk profile,” especially in countries where road conditions, driver behavior, and enforcement standards vary. He also noted that insurance should be part of planning the trip, not something travelers scramble to figure out after something goes wrong.

Here are the 10 countries that ranked riskiest in Zego’s analysis.

10. France

France ranked tenth with a dangerous driving score of 5.39 out of 10. The country recorded 7.18 road fatalities per 100,000 vehicles and 145.20 road injuries per 100,000 vehicles in Zego’s analysis.

Road quality was one of France’s stronger points, with a score of 5.96 out of 7. For travelers, the bigger adjustment may be getting used to toll roads, speed cameras, local signage, and city driving rules.

9. Spain

Spain came in ninth with a score of 5.64 out of 10. The study found 5.81 fatalities per 100,000 vehicles and 420.43 injuries per 100,000 vehicles.

For travelers planning to drive beyond Madrid, Barcelona, or the beach towns, it’s worth checking rental car rules, parking restrictions, and local alcohol limits before the trip. Spain can be a great country to explore by car, but it still pays to know the rules before you’re already behind the wheel.

8. Poland

Poland ranked eighth, with a dangerous driving score of 6.25 out of 10. It recorded 5.82 fatalities per 100,000 vehicles and 78.10 injuries per 100,000 vehicles.

One detail that stood out in the study was Poland’s road quality score, which came in at 4.14 out of 7. Zego also listed Poland’s legal blood alcohol concentration limit at 0.02%, which is much stricter than what many American travelers may be used to.

7. Germany

Germany came in seventh with a score of 6.33 out of 10. The country recorded 5.25 fatalities per 100,000 vehicles and 692.40 injuries per 100,000 vehicles.

Germany’s road quality score was 5.46 out of 7, but that does not mean driving there is automatically stress-free. Between high-speed roads, construction zones, urban traffic, and unfamiliar signs, it is still worth reviewing the rules before renting a car.

6. Portugal

Portugal ranked sixth, with a dangerous driving score of 6.54 out of 10. Zego’s analysis found 8.41 fatalities per 100,000 vehicles and 594.28 injuries per 100,000 vehicles.

Portugal scored well for road quality at 6.05 out of 7, the highest road quality score among the countries in the top 10. Still, travelers planning to drive through cities, coastal roads, or smaller towns should be ready for narrow streets, steep hills, and tight parking.

5. Ireland

Ireland ranked fifth with a score of 6.74 out of 10. The country recorded 6.28 fatalities per 100,000 vehicles and 256.95 injuries per 100,000 vehicles.

For many American travelers, Ireland also comes with the adjustment of driving on the left side of the road. I did an Ireland road trip recently, and the narrow rural roads, stone walls, roundabouts, and occasional sheep crossing were all very real parts of the experience. It was absolutely worth it, but this is one destination where a little prep can make the first day behind the wheel feel much less chaotic.

4. Greece

Greece came in fourth, with a dangerous driving score of 7.13 out of 10. The study found 11.51 fatalities per 100,000 vehicles and 231.94 injuries per 100,000 vehicles.

Driving in Greece can vary a lot depending on where you are. A mainland road trip is one thing; navigating steep island roads, tight village streets, scooters, and limited parking can feel very different. For my Greece itinerary, I personally hired a driver and was very glad I did!

3. Italy

Italy ranked third with a dangerous driving score of 7.51 out of 10. Zego recorded 6.75 fatalities per 100,000 vehicles and 520.97 injuries per 100,000 vehicles.

Renting a car in Italy can be worth it if you’re heading into Tuscany, the Dolomites, or smaller towns that are harder to reach by train. City driving is another story, especially with limited traffic zones, aggressive merging, tight streets, and parking rules that can get expensive fast.

2. United States

The United States ranked second, with a dangerous driving score of 8.15 out of 10. According to Zego, the U.S. recorded 17.05 fatalities per 100,000 vehicles, the second-highest fatality rate in the dataset.

The U.S. also had the highest absolute number of road deaths in the study, with 44,194, along with more than 2 million injuries in 2024. Zego noted that the U.S. scored well for road quality, which suggests the risk may have less to do with road condition and more to do with scale, distance traveled, and exposure across such a massive road network.

1. Turkey

Turkey ranked as the riskiest country to drive in among the destinations analyzed, with a dangerous driving score of 8.53 out of 10. It had the highest fatality rate in the study, with 20.99 deaths per 100,000 vehicles.

Turkey also recorded 1,272.64 injuries per 100,000 vehicles, the highest injury rate by a wide margin. Zego called it the most severe outlier in the analysis, especially compared with other popular destinations like Italy and Spain.

For travelers staying closer to home, road safety can vary quite a bit within the U.S., too. Truck drivers on Reddit have been naming the American roads they dread most, with Wyoming’s I-80 coming up again and again, while another recent study ranked the best and worst U.S. cities for driving.

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