CANDICE CAI
By now, it should not come as a surprise that Singapore typically crushes the competition in many world rankings.
And so it did, in a recent list of best roads around the world, where Singapore came in — you guessed it — first.
It scored 9.44 over 10 points in terms of its road quality in a global study by Zutobi, which also took into account the number of road deaths and the relative size of the road network.
Zutobi, an online driver education resource, also obtained some of its data on road quality from earlier studies in The Global Economy.
According to the ranking, Singapore had the lowest road traffic deaths at 1.69 per 100,000 people.
What's worth mentioning is that Singapore is the only country among the 59 countries studied to score above 9 points, with second-placed Netherlands obtaining a score of 8.62.
Others among the top five in descending order include Switzerland (8.58), Japan (8.41) and Denmark (7.59).
Conversely, looking at the worst roads in the world, Kuwait came up tops — or dead last — depending on how you look at it.
It had the lowest road quality score of 1.33 points, possibly due to its high number of road traffic deaths — the highest in the list — at 19 per 100,000 people.
One may also want to be cautious when driving in Costa Rica (2.24), Georgia (2.33) and Panama (2.55).
Surprisingly, New Zealand's (NZ) roads were fifth-worst at 2.93 points.
According to Zutobi, a contributing factor to NZ's poor showing (notwithstanding the many winding and narrow mountain roads) was the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake which destroyed a large section the country's biggest road.
Singaporean drivers, however, were far from joyful when it came to the nation's latest achievement.
Some left comments on the Land Transport Authority's Facebook post commenting on that report, with netizens saying that the state of some of our roads leaves much to be desired.
One posted: "Come to Jurong Island Highway, experience it. Has the "BEST ROAD" nationwide.... Dry crack road, patchwork, uneven roads, poor(ly) maintained pedestrian pathways."
One even thought Malaysia's North-South highway fared better than our Pan-Island Expressway.
But for one Hardwarezone forum member, the problems we face on the roads appear to be user-generated.
And if you're wondering how our closest neighbour fared, the answer is — not that great (but still better than NZ and Argentina).
Malaysia ranked 12th from the bottom at 3.32 points, pipping countries such as the United Arab Emirates (3.23) and Saudi Arabia (3.11).
The Malaysian government however, has come out to rebut the report, calling it inaccurate and misleading.
It cited another study published by Utasan Malaysia on Aug 10 which ranked Malaysia's road quality among the 21 best roads in the world.
By now, it should not come as a surprise that Singapore typically crushes the competition in many world rankings.
And so it did, in a recent list of best roads around the world, where Singapore came in — you guessed it — first.
It scored 9.44 over 10 points in terms of its road quality in a global study by Zutobi, which also took into account the number of road deaths and the relative size of the road network.
Zutobi, an online driver education resource, also obtained some of its data on road quality from earlier studies in The Global Economy.
According to the ranking, Singapore had the lowest road traffic deaths at 1.69 per 100,000 people.
What's worth mentioning is that Singapore is the only country among the 59 countries studied to score above 9 points, with second-placed Netherlands obtaining a score of 8.62.
Others among the top five in descending order include Switzerland (8.58), Japan (8.41) and Denmark (7.59).
Conversely, looking at the worst roads in the world, Kuwait came up tops — or dead last — depending on how you look at it.
It had the lowest road quality score of 1.33 points, possibly due to its high number of road traffic deaths — the highest in the list — at 19 per 100,000 people.
One may also want to be cautious when driving in Costa Rica (2.24), Georgia (2.33) and Panama (2.55).
Surprisingly, New Zealand's (NZ) roads were fifth-worst at 2.93 points.
According to Zutobi, a contributing factor to NZ's poor showing (notwithstanding the many winding and narrow mountain roads) was the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake which destroyed a large section the country's biggest road.
Singaporean drivers, however, were far from joyful when it came to the nation's latest achievement.
Some left comments on the Land Transport Authority's Facebook post commenting on that report, with netizens saying that the state of some of our roads leaves much to be desired.
One posted: "Come to Jurong Island Highway, experience it. Has the "BEST ROAD" nationwide.... Dry crack road, patchwork, uneven roads, poor(ly) maintained pedestrian pathways."
 |
| Screengrab from Facebook/Wekeepyourworldmoving |
 |
| Screengrab from Facebook/Wekeepyourworldmoving |
 |
| Screengrab from Facebook/Wekeepyourworldmoving |
One even thought Malaysia's North-South highway fared better than our Pan-Island Expressway.
But for one Hardwarezone forum member, the problems we face on the roads appear to be user-generated.
 |
| Screengrab from Hardwarezone |
And if you're wondering how our closest neighbour fared, the answer is — not that great (but still better than NZ and Argentina).
Malaysia ranked 12th from the bottom at 3.32 points, pipping countries such as the United Arab Emirates (3.23) and Saudi Arabia (3.11).
The Malaysian government however, has come out to rebut the report, calling it inaccurate and misleading.
It cited another study published by Utasan Malaysia on Aug 10 which ranked Malaysia's road quality among the 21 best roads in the world.
 |
| In January, Pahang assemblyman Sim Chon Siang decided to fix a pothole himself after local authorities did not respond to requests for repairs. Facebook/Sim Chon Siang |
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Singapore Has The Best Roads In The World With Malaysia Ranking 12th For The Worst Says Study
BY: RICHARD AUGUSTINOCT 4 2022 10:41 AM
Like most people, we love to drive. After all there is just something inspiring about driving on an open road with your favourite set of wheels. That is, if they road quality is up to scratch. This is why its fortunate that a new study has ranked the best and worst roads in the world.
The study is a useful one for sure. Assessing where you can drive on high quality roads provides numerous benefits especially for travellers. It not only translates to a more comfortable road trip and better travel experience but the added notion of safety and lower risk of vehicle damage.
Conversely, poorly maintained roads can be damaging to your car and dangerous for all road users. Bad road surfaces can lead to an increase in accidents; which can, in turn, lead to a rise in injuries; and sadly, fatalities.
Like most people, we love to drive. After all there is just something inspiring about driving on an open road with your favourite set of wheels. That is, if they road quality is up to scratch. This is why its fortunate that a new study has ranked the best and worst roads in the world.
The study is a useful one for sure. Assessing where you can drive on high quality roads provides numerous benefits especially for travellers. It not only translates to a more comfortable road trip and better travel experience but the added notion of safety and lower risk of vehicle damage.
Conversely, poorly maintained roads can be damaging to your car and dangerous for all road users. Bad road surfaces can lead to an increase in accidents; which can, in turn, lead to a rise in injuries; and sadly, fatalities.
Best Roads In The World
Fortunately, Zutobi, an easy and affordable online Driver Education resource has ranked some of the best and worst roads in the world. According to the company, the study was conducted by studying the area of each country and the length of its road network from Worlddata.info.
Following which, they then calculated the km of road per 100,000 km2. The road quality score per country was sourced from TheGlobalEconomy.com, with collected data from the most recent recorded year (2019), and five years earlier (2014).
After analysing the data, road quality, road fatalities, and the relative size of the road network, Zutobi has now presented its findings with the report here. In case you’re wondering, you don’t need to go far to experience the best roads in the world because Singapore has some of the best.
The Garden City tops the rankings with the highest overall road score of over 9/10. It has the best road quality, as well as the fewest road traffic deaths, 1.69 per 100,000 people. The Netherlands, who ranked number one in 2014, ranked second in the 2022 study. Rounding up the top five are Switzerland, Japan and Denmark.
Following which, they then calculated the km of road per 100,000 km2. The road quality score per country was sourced from TheGlobalEconomy.com, with collected data from the most recent recorded year (2019), and five years earlier (2014).
After analysing the data, road quality, road fatalities, and the relative size of the road network, Zutobi has now presented its findings with the report here. In case you’re wondering, you don’t need to go far to experience the best roads in the world because Singapore has some of the best.
The Garden City tops the rankings with the highest overall road score of over 9/10. It has the best road quality, as well as the fewest road traffic deaths, 1.69 per 100,000 people. The Netherlands, who ranked number one in 2014, ranked second in the 2022 study. Rounding up the top five are Switzerland, Japan and Denmark.
World’s Worst Roads
When it comes to the world’s worst roads, Kuwait scored an abysmal 1.33/10 for quality. The nation also recorded the third highest number of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people, almost 19. Countries that rounded up the top five for low road quality score are Costa Rica, Georgia, Panama and New Zealand.
Despite its spectacular landscape, the world’s southernmost country has challenging roads due to its mountainous terrain. Another reason why New Zealand dropped in the rankings is partially due to the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake which destroyed a large section of the state Highway 1 (New Zealand’s biggest road).
Across the Causeway, Malaysia was named as the nation with the 12th worst quality roads in the world. According to the study, the road quality of our neighbours across the border has decreased by over 5% in the last 5 years. Over 22 road traffic fatalities per 100,000 have occurred on Malaysia’s highways – the second highest number of road traffic deaths in the world after Saudi Arabia.
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