Skip to main content

2012 was record road death low in most OECD-IRTAD countries, says report

The year 2012 is said to have seen the lowest road deaths on record within most OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development) and IRTAD (International Traffic Safety Data and Analysis Group) countries. However, the IRTAD Annual Road Safety Report 2013, published yesterday by the International Transport Forum at the OECD, also claims road safety performance in terms of fatalities per 100,000 of population varies considerably among OECD-IRTAD countries. The difference between the best and the w
May 23, 2013 Read time: 3 mins
The year 2012 is said to have seen the lowest road deaths on record within most OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development) and 3444 IRTAD (International Traffic Safety Data and Analysis Group) countries.

However, the IRTAD Annual Road Safety Report 2013, published yesterday by the 1102 International Transport Forum at the OECD, also claims road safety performance in terms of fatalities per 100,000 of population varies considerably among OECD-IRTAD countries. The difference between the best and the worst road safety performers is said to be three-fold.

The disparity is said by the IRTAD report to reflect the divide between developed countries with effective road safety policies and emerging economies facing rapid motorisation that outpaces the implementation of safety measures.

The bulk of reductions in fatalities is said to have benefitted car occupants. Largely due to increased passive safety features of cars, deaths among car passengers have halved in the past decade.

Results have been less positive for vulnerable road users. Between 2000 and 2010, in OECD-IRTAD countries pedestrian and cyclist deaths fell by only one third, and those of moped and motorcycle riders by only 14%.

The safety of vulnerable road users continues to be a core road safety issue, not least in lower income countries. Also, with many countries seeking to encourage active mobility, improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists is said by the IRTAD report to be a priority.

Another core challenge is the reduction of serious injuries caused by road crashes. Such injuries often result in lifelong disabilities associated with considerable economic as well as emotional costs.

The impact of serious road injuries is often greatly underestimated, partly because of gaps in the data recording injury crashes. Currently, only a limited number of countries are able to provide sound road injury data.

An internationally accepted definition of a serious injury did not exist until recently. A proposal made by an IRTAD expert group has now been adopted by the 2465 European Commission, which is expected to issue a reduction target on serious injuries for the year 2020. The challenge for IRTAD members now is to implement the recommendations.

IRTAD is an international expert network and database on road safety data. A permanent working group of the International Transport Forum, IRTAD is composed of road safety experts and statisticians from safety research institutes, national road and transport administrations, international organisations, universities, automobile associations, the automobile industry, and others from OECD and non-OECD countries.

More than 70 organisations from 34 countries are currently IRTAD members, representing a wide range of public and private bodies with an interest in road safety.

The most visible product of the IRTAD Group is the International Road Traffic and Accident Database. The database includes aggregated data on injury accidents, road fatalities, injured and hospitalised road users, as well as relevant exposure data.

The ambition of IRTAD is to include new countries and to build and maintain a high-quality database on road safety information.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Road safety is an EU priority
    March 2, 2012
    The preparation of the new EU Road Safety Policy for the next decade will take place during Spain's presidency of the EU. Patrick Smith reports. An the past 10 years, half a million people have been killed on European Union roads, with road crashes costing an annual €160 billion or 2% the EU's GDP.
  • Concerns over increased US road fatality rate in 2012
    November 25, 2013
    Data from the US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that highway deaths increased to 33,561 in 2012, an increase of 1,082 over the figures for 2011.The official Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data reveals that the majority of the increase in deaths, some 72%, occurred in the first quarter of 2012. Most of those involved were motorcyclists and pedestrians. This newly released data marks the first increase in road related fatalities in the US
  • French road deaths cause for concern
    August 29, 2017
    France has achieved major results in reducing road deaths in the last 10 years but now appears to have hit a barrier with regard to better road safety. The figures for road deaths in July 2017 were better than for 2016. There were 346 fatalities in July 2017 compared with 356 road deaths in July 2016. However there were 5,121 crashes in July 2017, an increase of 41 from July 2016. At the same time there were 7,204 injuries in July 2017, an increase of 226 from July 2016, although serious injuries requiring
  • Latin America road safety plan proposed
    June 14, 2019
    A new report suggests key strategies to cut road deaths and injuries in Latin America. The report was commissioned by Bloomberg Philanthropies and shows that more than 25,000 Latin American lives could be saved and over 170,000 serious injuries prevented by 2030 if United Nations (UN) vehicle safety regulations were applied by four key countries in the region—Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil. The report was prepared by the UK-based Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). The aim of the study was to estimat