How Sweden Nailed Road Safety 

this video really explains nothing... "use seatbelts and drive on the side of the road that makes sense" im pretty sure most developed countries have those same systems in place

And then there is germany Gently whispering in your ear "Go 300Km/h... Do it.... Do it...."

Where I live many people still have not figured out that the left lane is for passing, turns must be made into the nearest lane instead of a wide arc, and a 'Stop' sign does not mean 'lightly tap brake'...

Dear Bloomberg, please do another video that explains exactly How Sweeden Nailed Road Safety, thank you.

Sweden: Safest Road Finland: Best Schools Norway: Most effective prison method Me: NO WHERE NEAR

US has more accidents, but why is that compared to Sweden. It didn't really answer this question. Also I don't think it really answered the question stated in the title either. It just showed changes, but what specifically in the later years has changed? There are people driving and texting and the us has a higher fatal rate on the roads with vehicles so how has Sweden dealt with this. I feel like there are so many questions still unanswered.

I know swedish "skrattar du förlorar du"

I think another huge factor is our driver's education. It features A LOT of focus on road safety, including a mandatory course on alcohol/drugs, how sleep affects driving, how potential damage increases exponentially with speed.

Its the same in Norway, we sat a new record we least deaths in traffic since the 70s. 107 people died (of 5.3 mil.) Thats is 2 people per 100K.

Mostly correct, except "nollvisonen" (vision zero)isn´t about zero deaths, it´s rather about zero deaths and zero serious injuries, i.e. the kind of injuries crippling people

I dont know what I was expecting something more

Safety, is #1 priority.

In our country we just text the driver coming in the opposite direction that we're pulling out to overtake. Simple.

Perhaps they also should have mentioned drunk driving. In In 1990 the alcohol limit was lowered from 0.5 per mille, to 0.2. In many other countries (Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, China, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Germany) it's still 0.5 and in some, like the US for instance, it's 0.8. 30 % of the people involved in traffic accidents are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, 90 % of them are men. So the numbers could be way lower if we got the drunk drivers off the roads.

On topic: Getting a driver's license is quite a hassle (due to the extensiveness of the tests and required training, such as getting to try out driving in icy conditions), and is not at all required for living in urban areas. The negative aspect is that getting a license in Sweden can be really expensive - around 2000-2500 USD is quite normal for administrative fees, literature, and a few classes. Compare that to American suburbs where a car is an absolute necessity and you can get a license incredibly easily and cheaply. I have a Texas drivers license, as well as a Swedish one, and boy were they different. I didn't even realize I was doing the actual theoretical exam for the American one after the third day of driving ed. I laughed so hard when all of society completely shut down when there was a tiny bit of ice on the roads for a couple of days - people were legit posting on Facebook about how they were running out of food at home, and couldn't drive to Walmart (granted, it wouldn't be a good idea to drive without proper tires or training, but it was absolutely ridiculous - at least walk to the store..?). Regarding "Swedistan" comments: For anyone reading the comments and seeing all the "Swedistan" comments - don't listen to them, coming from a well traveled Swede. Every single person I've talked to that holds the same views seems to get it from comment sections, cherry picking of data (often ignoring differences in how it is collected), and quoting news from far right news sites. In general, Swedish media simply talks about any cases that happen, and there isn't as much stigma towards for example rape victims and working hard for progressive reforms by pointing out any injustice. There are people (often far right supporters) who avoid even going on the metro towards the so called "no go zones" (most of whom have never been there in the first place) - but they're really quite nice compared to most neighborhoods around the world. The infamous car burnings were a couple of isolated incidents made by a group of 30ish youths, from what I've heard. I took an American friend to visit Akalla, and he thought it was a joke that this was a "bad" part of town. And yes, socioeconomically, poorer areas are more prone to illegal activities and pent up aggression (or psychological effects from what immigrants may have been through), and I can admit that refugee integration is far from perfect. For one, finding accommodation or jobs, if you are allowed to seek employment while waiting for political asylum, can be really hard, especially without money or contacts. There are predominantly immigrants living in those areas, but Microsoft, Ericsson, and other big tech companies also host their HQs nearby in Kista due to the cheaper real estate with good highway communication. It is NOT a war zone. Fear can make people behave strangely. Another often mentioned problem is the amount of beggars on the streets, an influx mainly from Romania and Bulgaria (due to free movement within the EU). A Romanian friend is very suspicious of them, and has heard things being said between them that suggests that the begging is organized, but I've seen very few actual problems (although I can't vouch for how the beggars are treated by their supposed "pimp"). I believe the problem is mainly that the average Swede isn't accustomed to seeing that kind of poverty, and that begging was pretty much non-existent 10 years ago. This is purely anecdotal evidence; but the worst crime I've been exposed to personally was a girl who stole my phone charger on the train (cuz I let her borrow it), after which I moved to another part of the carriage. Then she even came up and tried to pay me cuz she felt bad - to which I declined. I've heard of worse, but can't bring to mind any specific examples of stuff that's happened to any of my friends. I think Tokyo is the only other place I've felt as safe as in as Stockholm. Even when visiting one of the world's poorest countries in the world, where my white skin really stood out - and I almost got mugged - I almost exclusively felt a tremendous amount of warmth from the locals. Much less so than what I've experienced from ethnically Swedish trash (once again, I am Swedish myself, but well traveled).

0:55 I remember when my dad told me about that. He was sitting in the car as a kid and the government had decided a time when everyone on the road was gonna stay still for 20 minutes or something like that before changing side and then staying 20 more minutes before starting to drive again to not create any confusion if someones clock wasn't running correctly.

Biggest Swedish auto fabric: -Volvo- ❌ -Saab- ❌ *IKEA* ✅

I am born in former yugoslav repuplic but raised in sweden. For living iam driving truck. I can explain how the swedish people are in traffic. Number one they drive slowly. And number two when they are in traffic they are never in a rush and voila most safe roads in the world.

I'm one of those people who was saved from serious injury or death by wearing a 3-point seatbelt way back in 1978, when virtually nobody wore them since this wasn't yet required by law.

Great video but could've gone more in depth about all the regulations Sweden has and how strict tests you have to pass to get a license. I guess most countries don't include "wet practice" during your licence test.

I heard that Australia is going to switch over also. But being Australians..they are taking it in stages. They're going to allow trucks to change over first for two weeks for them to get use to it.

Great video, but horrible way to come to conclude. 2:55 "there's no trade-off -- safety is always priority" Okay then, why don't they just ban cars all together? Instant way to get 0 traffic fatalities.

Most children are also rearfacing until at least 4 years old! Rearfacing longer is one of the things that could help save thousands of children in traffic accidents.

My grandma and granda had just gotten their license the year the change from left to right traffic happend, needless to say they've told me loads of times how confusing it was, and how scary it was to meet someone who hadn't really understood the change driving on the wrong side of the road

SCANDINAVIA FTW

Well clearly, you haven't seen people driving at "Södertälje".

You should make a video on how Austria changed from driving on the left to driving on the right. We surely made it as complex as possible, switching state by state by state over a time-frame of several years in the 30s

the sound effect was awesome

Such a poor journalism from Bloomberg ... I watched the video because it's from Bloomberg But it didn't provide full reason on switching left to right driving.. and how it effects.. just put some statistics and clamming success of Sweden as because of Rich not because of it's accurate policy and implementation of such policy... which is kinda textbook example of yellow journalism..

We'd have 0 road accidents if it hadn't been for Stockholmers not knowing how to use winter tires whwn they drive up north.

I think that one big thing is that the left lane is only for passing in Sweden. No one uses the left lane for anything other than that unless the driver is a tourist. When I visited the US it was a mess, everyone was overtaking everyone from anywhere. It felt very unsafe. It was the same way in Spain

What's music at 1:55

a government that cares about the people and makes significant changes. what a wonderful place.... I actually started tearing up at the end of the video.

Now only uk and australia remaining

Just 250 people died in traffic in Sweden in 2017.

I live in sweden and i Didnt know a few of these things :) Great video💯

Sooooo... That's the same in every EU country. Didn't see anything new. You still didn't answer why their numbers are so low compared to others.

I can't wait to move there.

My grandmother backed uo into a Volvo with her Kia. The volvo barely had a scratch and the kia had a HUGE dent

What you forgot to mention is that there was a referendum in Sweden on switching the driving side, won by an overwhelming no vote.

Sverige

The change to right-side traffic didn't even change the accident rate. People were just more careful briefly after the change.

I'm sorry, but I didn't learn anything from this. There's no information here you couldn't get by spending 30 sec on wikipedia. It doesn't answer "How Sweden Nailed Road Safety" at all, all it does is say they changed the side of the road, then started becoming focused on safety, and now it's safe. That's not answering any _how_ at all.

Misleading video. They compare Sweden to the 'world', and it looks like an amazingly low fatality rate, but it's pretty much the same as the UK.

You didn't explain"how"

This video doesn’t explain why Sweden’s roads are so safe. It just points out stuff that every developed country has

Poland, for instance, is surprisingly safe knowing the country's wealth and that the speed limits are among the highest in the world - 149 km/h is perfectly legal on a highway.

pretty sureNorway drove on the right side before the swedes, i remember my grandad telling stories about how they had to switch to the other side of the road when crossing from Norway to sweden.

According to BLOOMBERG, by the 2020 Sweden will start using Seat belt in motorcycles....😅😅😅😂😂😂

Is it me or Sweden is better at everything?

Also, Sweden has on estimate only one car for every 2 people in the country which is pretty low. Less cars = less collisions

The driving rules are strict and are followed by everyone. One has to invest 6 months (or more) and lot of money to clear both theory & practical driving exam. Also, the passing rate is approx 48% which means majority fail and has to give exam twice, thrice & sometime even more.

Next, how Sweden nailed immigration?

This video dont tell me shit but they drive on the right side of the road wow!!!!

The thing they missed is that they're making it more and more expensive to take the license. "You have to take this course", it takes 3 hours and cost you like 100$. That's only for one of the courses... Don't get me started with the bikes...

One thing they didn't mention in the video is that out age limit for getting your drivers license is 18 years, and from what I understand, it is much harder to get it here compared to, for example, the US. You have to pass both a theoretical test as well as a drivning test. And before this, you have to compleate courses where they you test driving on very slippery roads, and they teach you what to do if you lose grip on the road. Many people also take many lessons in driving. Maybe this is one reason the mortality is so low, new drivers are more prepared before they drive on their own?

Swedens road safety got severely damage a few days ago. Cause I just got my licence xd

Just ban human drivers

Sweden passed a law in February, banning texting/calling while driving.

Apologies if this seems redundant. The narrator being Brit claims the Swedes switched to right-side driving because it's safer. Why is the UK still operating vehicles on the left-side?

I live in Stockholm, Sweden, and I would happily give up some safety for more convenience, . Here 4-lane highways are 70 or even 50 km/h, while most other countries have 100+ km/h in similar roads.

this is BS trying to make a model out of a low population (and density as well) country to others that are more populated (and dense in cities)

Ironically, Sweden built cars with both left AND right hand drive. So, why did they even allow importation of cars with left hand drive if they were DRIVING on the left?

Volvo's zero vision is incredibly astonishing!

Yeah I just love swedish laws, like not defining rape until 1 week ago

Islamic State of Sweden

Why does this “breakthrough” warrant a video? The United States has always required left hand drive vehicles to operate on the right side of the road.

We also have the highest amount of signs per viewing angle and a high amount of trafic cameras and as someone said below stop mean stop and the triangle means letting other cars drive. The book with all the regulation and signs are quiet thick.

We have one of the safest roads in the world, but we can only save .2 of a person after 2 deaths.

Can someone explain how switching from the left to right lane improved driving/safety??

It would be horrible for us Norwegians to go shopping in Sweden if we had to change lines. I think its very good that we have the same system on the whole of the Scandinavian peninsula

That feeling when deaths caused by driving accidents have risen 50% in Sweden

I mean most of these things are in other countries as well. Nothing, to me, really stood out as 'Why Sweden's death rate is lower than X country'

Finland had 266 traffic fatalities in the year 2015

1:29 Omg you’re like the first youtuber ever to pronounce ö in the correct way👍

Noone mentions tyres are a million times better and disc brakes are on every car.

Yes, det är så najs att kolla på videor där de pratar bra om Sverige! Det gör mer stolt! :D (Yes, it’s so nice to watch videos were they talk about what’s good about Sweden! It makes me proud!)

Recentely moved to Norway from Sweden and here they have lower speed limits, I’ve rarely driven faster than 80 here while in Sweden roads with speed up to 110-120 is a lot more common. Speeding tickets cost a lot also.

Gave away the 3-point seatbelt and saved so many lives. Great respect and many thanks from US!!

Sweden also has "fences" on some of the biggest roads that are basicly long steel wires. They are very effective preventing sleepy drivers from crashing, but they also have an unfortunate nickname: Biker slicer. (Pretty neat that it sounds cool in English aswell!)

I dont think it had anything to do with changing from left to right hand drive. We saw the same drop in deaths in other countries after the introduction of seat belts and speed limits from around 1970, and they still drive on the same side of the road. Most countries that drive on the left side of the road have the steering wheel on the right so no problem overtaking. . Its unusual Sweden drove on the left with the steering wheel also on the left?. Thats weird, I've never heard that. How many countries did that?

0:36 - Notice that traffic is still on the left in this black & white film, even though the street markings have been changed to the right in anticipation of the switch.

My father was 7 years old when it happend, I love listening to the stories about that day, the change and how people reacted. Road saftey is taught very realy in our country, I remember getting instructions on how to cross, the rules of helmets when you are on a bike, speed limits and what lane to use on the sidewalk to not interfere with cyclists.

In denmark we also drive at the right side Fun fact: Sweden was once Danish, same with Norway and Greenland

Also there is a real winter in Sweden where people have to learn how to dive on a frozen and slippery road. When the whole population knows how to drive in winter it does good for the statictics

Another thing is the Swedish people, in my experience they are very courteous towards other drivers. Multiple times me and the car in front of me would come up on slower traffic and the slower cars would move over on the extra wide shoulder to let us pass, which took away any possible tailgating or road rage that might occur with other drivers.

Fun fact: We actually voted about keeping left or switching to right. Keeping left won.

Studies have shown that if you have a to slow speed limit the amounts of crashing will be higher compared to if you increased the speed limit. It will cause people to drive a more equal speed and that lower the amount of crashes. Some roads in sweden NEED a higher speed limit because most people will drive 20 over the speed limit. And some keep the speed limit and that is dangerous.

Compare periods from 1950 to 1970 and then 1970 to 2015 is not that fair. Its 20 years old window against 45 years period. Plus its not only Sweden that changed, but also safety car technology. Today is nearly impossible to die in a car crash (in normal circumstances) even in poor countries. I'm from Brazil and I work in insurance industry, and I can tell that a fatal car crash is really rare even when the car is not recoverable anymore.

If I said "drink driving" to a cop I would be under arrest

And now we have made a law against phones in hand while driving. So now we're even safer :3

What's the music playing at 2:47?

0:15 Are you fking kidding me?! Comparing road traffic fatality of a single country to the entire world, any country would have a lower rate.

Having a low acceptable limit of blood alcohol content (0.02% compared to 0.08% in the UK and 0.05-0.08 % in the US) probably helps too. And that it´s manditory to have dubbed winter tires on during the winter. There are also a lot of moose accidents so putting up fences and building tunnels or bridges for them also probably have improved road safety. More people wearing helmets while riding a bike (manditory for children) probably also lowered the fatalities in traffic. Also, I think the hospitals have improved and is better than saving the lives of people involved in traffic accidents compared to the 1970s.

A couple of points to add, compared to nations like US, its harder to get a license, we also have a rule that you cant overtake someone in the right lane, even if its free, always in the left lane, makes traffic somewhat more predictable. The typical lane switching you often see in US, to get in the faster lane isnt really a problem here, but we got less traffic so maybe we cant point to that as the main factor.

2.8 deaths? How is that possible

You forgot to mention Swedens population is about 10.000.000 but in many other countrys the population is much higher

Doesnt Sweden also have one of the lowest crime rates? Damn!

Bloomberg's video really gives you a dumbed down and oversimplified version of road safety in Sweden. First of all, number of deaths per capita is not a good measurement, better to look at number of deaths per mile traveled. Bloomberg's focus on the 1967 reform is also strange as the big drop in fatalities came many years later. Here are a few road safety factors to consider: Factors reducing the numbers: 1. Traffic density is low in Sweden. Most fatal accidents in Sweden actually only involve one car. If Sweden had the same population density as the Netherlands or the UK, I think accidents would increase, all other factors remaining the same. 2. Swedes drive large and safe cars, with Volkswagen and Volvo topping the charts year after year. Much safer than American brands. 3. It is relatively hard to get a driver's license in Sweden. 4. If you live in an urban area in Sweden, you don't need a car as public transport is usually decent. This means people who shouldn't drive, because of age, health issues, stress, fatigue etc have an alternative. 5. Speed limits are low in Sweden (compared to many European countries, not to the US) 6. Swedes are very safety minded. Helmet use among cyclist is high and (almost) everyone uses a seatbelt while travelling in a car, even in the backseat or in the city at low speeds. 7. Swedes drive relatively slowly, at least compared to German, French and Italian drivers. 8. Sweden allows spiked winter tires, very useful in icy conditions. 9. Swedish road design is very safety conscious. Lanes are wide, guard rails are good and many country roads have a 2+1 design. There are also thousands of miles of fencing to keep large animals off the roads. 10. Driving after alcohol consumption is frowned upon in Sweden and you can lose your license already after small quantities. Factors increasing the numbers: 1. Sweden is very dark, snowy and cold in the winter. This means reduced visibility and risk of slippery roads. 2. There are few marked police cars on the roads. 3. There are few speed cameras. 4. While penalty charges for speeding are quite high, the legal consequences of very reckless driving are rather understated. People who cause accidents while driving under the influence of narcotics or alcohol get very lenient sentences. 5. Until recently, there was no system in place to confiscate cars that were systematically uninsured or driven by license less drivers.

Making video on the effect of changes made to traffic rules in the 1960s. Shows graphs on how this effected death numbers from 1970.