Concern at lack of progress on cutting EU road deaths

Concern is being expressed in the EU over an increase in road deaths for 2015 compared with 2014. Road deaths from crashes grew by 0.5% to 26,112. Although the increase is slight, The EU is trying to reduce road deaths and the figures for 2015 are of concern. The stated aim for the EU in the 2010-2020 period is to halve road deaths, but progress now looks to have faltered. Finland saw an increase in road deaths of 16%, while the Netherlands and Austria saw road fatalities rise by around 11%. Most dangero
November 21, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Concern is being expressed in the 3287 EU over an increase in road deaths for 2015 compared with 2014. Road deaths from crashes grew by 0.5% to 26,112. Although the increase is slight, The EU is trying to reduce road deaths and the figures for 2015 are of concern. The stated aim for the EU in the 2010-2020 period is to halve road deaths, but progress now looks to have faltered. Finland saw an increase in road deaths of 16%, while the Netherlands and Austria saw road fatalities rise by around 11%.

Most dangerous for road fatalities in the EU are Bulgaria and Romania with close to 10 deaths/100,000 inhabitants. Malta has the lowest rate of road deaths in the EU, followed closely by Sweden. The reason for this lack of improvement in road safety in the EU has not been revealed. But early data from the US for example reveals distracted driving (and particularly the use of cellphones for making calls, using the Internet, sending emails or texting) is on the increase. The use of cellphones at the wheel is known to present a major hazard to road safety.

It is worth noting though that the EU’s roads are markedly safer now than in past years. Road deaths in the EU’s 28 nations are around 40% of what they were in 1995. And the peak road death rates in Europe were in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

For more information on companies in this article

EU

Related Content

  • World road safety status hits plateau
    May 27, 2016
    The World Health Organisation has published a new report on road safety during 2015. Its global status report uses information from 180 countries and indicates that the total number of road traffic deaths has plateaued at 1.25 million/year worldwide. The annual global road fatality rate has remained roughly the same since 2007, a point worth noting considering growing vehicle numbers around the globe. Low income countries remain those of most concern for this report as in previous years. But some progress i
    Read More
  • Intersection crashes give cause for concern
    November 29, 2012
    An increased number of intersection crashes is expected in many parts of the US and Europe. Precisely why this is so is not clear, but the period before the end of the year is frequently marked by higher than average numbers of crashes. In the US, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) recorded and increase in crashes of 24% in the period between 21st November and December 31st 2011. Meanwhile injuries rose 18% and serious injuries increased 12% in this period, when compared with the monthly average f
    Read More
  • Brazil’s roads most dangerous in South America?
    November 24, 2016
    Brazil has South America’s most dangerous roads. That is the key finding from research carried out by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO). Its study shows that the country’s road death rate is a major cause for concern, accounting for over 40,000 fatalities in 2013 for example. With the country’s population estimated at over 200 million in 2013, this suggests a fatality rate of 20/100,000 of population. The research shows that speeding, driving under the influence of drink or drugs, non-use of seatb
    Read More
  • UN sets global target for road safety
    October 21, 2015
    The UN has set a global benchmark for reducing traffic fatalities on the world’s road network. Data shows that every year, almost 1.3 million people are killed in road crashes around the globe, according to information gathered by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In a bid to tackle this major problem, world leaders recently vowed to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020. This target was agreed at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York.
    Read More

Highlighted Content