In the two years following the unification of Germany in 1989, the number of cars owned by residents of East Germany and the total distance traveled by cars in East Germany both increased by about 40 percent.In those two years, however, the number of East German residents killed each year as car occupants in traffic accidents increased by about 300 percent.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the disproportionate increase in traffic fatalities?