Data shows rural disparities in traffic deaths

Rural counties experience more traffic deaths per capita compared to their urban counterparts, due in part to slower emergency response times, higher speed limits, and risky driving behavior like not wearing seatbelts.

Six lane interstates and city streets in densely developed urban areas aren't more dangerous than open stretches of highway, no matter how nasty rush hour traffic may get. An analysis by The Daily Yonder shows that traffic deaths are higher in rural counties, when deaths are measured as a share of the total population of the county where the accident took place.

According to dat...