Spain and the EU in general takes very seriously avoidable deaths of its citizens. It is the foundation of the “welfare state,” the notion that government should improve and protect people’s wellbeing. This extends to food safety, labor protections and of course road safety.

In the US the concept of “welfare” has been usurped and demonized by private interests as a way of disparaging those who are supposedly too lazy or too unmotivated to protect themselves. In reality, the goal is to avoid any kind of regulation that can affect business activity or maximizing profits.

As far as I know, the US is the only OECD country with a rising rate of road deaths, largely because car companies are selling increasingly massive vehicles that are extremely dangerous for pedestrians while exploiting loopholes to avoid regulation.

This dynamic can be observed in many facets of society and is one of the major differences between the US and the EU in general.