I've come to think that France might have a good culture in this respect. No major train crashes for years; there's never been a serious accident on the TGV. They have nuclear reactors all over the place and they seem to have managed to operate them safely. Airbus by all accounts seems to have a good safety culture.

Maybe it's because of the 'fraternité' in 'liberté égalité fraternité; they have very strong culture of public solidarity and very low income inequality compared to say Britain or the US.

And maybe that's why it doesn't cost a fortune to build high speed rail there as well; because there is a moral element to it that means you don't rip off your fellow countrymen.