In Latvia, Turkey, Watch the Road

GENEVA — Roads in Latvia and Turkey are among the most dangerous in the world, although India has the highest accident death toll, according to statistics published here.

The report by the private International Road Federation shows that Hong Kong has the most crowded roads and Kuwaitis own the most cars per family.

Mexico and Spain fare best in the construction category, with Mexico adding 1,200 miles to its superhighway system and Spain 600 miles between 1989-1990.

Investment in the United States and Canada, by contrast, has gone through a period of stagnation, the report says.

The International Road Federation represents road-building and maintenance firms and associations that lobby governments to improve roads. Its 193-page report is based on 1991 figures from its members and governments.

Federation Director-General Wim Westerhuis told a news conference that road traffic in Europe is expected to rise by 40% over the next decade. He said the increase is expected to be slightly less in North America, but higher in rapidly industrializing Asian countries like Thailand.

The survey showed that impoverished Albanians are the least likely to have cars, with only one for every 50 families. By contrast, there were an average 2.1 cars per household in affluent Kuwait, 1.9 per household in Iceland and 1.8 in the United States.

Turkey had the largest percentage increase in the number of cars, jumping 54% between 1987 and 1991.

Many Turks, however, paid for their new possessions with their lives. The report said Turkey had one of the highest accident rates with 24 deaths per 60 million miles driven in 1991. The toll in the Baltic republic of Latvia was slightly higher at 25, nearly double the 1987 rate.

The death rate in the United States, by comparison, was only 1.3 per 60 million miles.

This means, however, that 44,500 people were killed on U.S. roads in 1990 and 3.6 million were injured.

In India, 56,500 people died in road accidents and 254,000 were hurt, the report said.

The International Road Federation said in many instances inexperienced drivers and poor quality roads are more to blame than speed--particularly in Eastern Europe.

Westerhuis said different national road signs also contribute to accidents.

“At the moment if you cross a border you are faced with a completely different set of circumstances--signs which have a vague resemblance to what you are used to in your own country but they turn out to mean something completely different,” he said.

For instance, superhighway signs in France and many other Western European nations are blue. But in Switzerland and Italy--which border France--blue signs are used for slower speed roads, and green is used for superhighways.