I hear the speed photo enforcement is pretty tough in the Nordic countries. Contrast that to say.....Turkey, where the maximum is 120km/h on the motorway, at which point you're liable to get run over because speeds in excess of 150-160km/h are closer to the norm. That said, Turkey has some of the more dangerous accidents in the world, whereas I'm pretty sure Sweden has some of the safest roads around. When I was in Finland, I don't ever recall seeing a collision.

In spite of the extra cost of diesel versus petrol, I'm one of those that feels the day-to-day driveability and efficiency of the diesels are worth it, not to mention their reduced CO² emissions compared to their equivalent-sized petrol counterparts so it's more eco-friendly as well.

Diesel is about $1,02/litre in low-tax South Carolina right about now, so we still have it good compared to the rest of the world.