Caracas Chronicles

Accompanying article here. The money quote

It turns out that the profusion of oil wealth might actually make the roads more dangerous due to something political scientists call the rentier state effect. Individuals in such countries, who often live off lavish subsidies, may be more accustomed to seeing the government as something that gives out money, not as a regulatory and policing body. The governments, which draw their legitimacy and power from oil rather than from people, have less incentive to implement harsher driving rules, which might prove unpopular. And it can give citizens a sense that the law serves them, rather than the other way around.

Me thinks there is another common thread in all these countries. When lunatics drive your country, then lunatics drive on the road. [HT: José Ramón]