Europe’s most dangerous roads in Bulgaria and Romania

Bulgaria and Romania have the worst road casualty rates of any EU nations, with data for 2016 revealing the extent of the problem. In 2016 Bulgaria saw 999 fatalities/1,000,000 of population while Romania saw 97 road deaths/1,000,000 of population. Poland and Lithuania also scored poorly on road safety at 80 deaths/1,000,000 of population, while Hungary saw 62 road deaths/1,000,000 of population. The average across the EU nations was 50 road deaths/1,000,000 of population. Meanwhile Sweden saw the best road
November 19, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

Bulgaria and Romania have the worst road casualty rates of any EU nations, with data for 2016 revealing the extent of the problem. In 2016 Bulgaria saw 999 fatalities/1,000,000 of population while Romania saw 97 road deaths/1,000,000 of population. Poland and Lithuania also scored poorly on road safety at 80 deaths/1,000,000 of population, while Hungary saw 62 road deaths/1,000,000 of population. The average across the EU nations was 50 road deaths/1,000,000 of population. Meanwhile Sweden saw the best road safety standards in the EU with just 27 road deaths/1,000,000 of population closely followed by the UK with 28 road deaths/1,000,000 of population. Denmark and the Netherlands are also amongst the countries with the safest roads in the EU, both recording 37 road deaths/1,000,000 of population.

The road safety issues are not being resolved quickly enough in any EU country. The target of haling road deaths in the EU for the period  from 2010 to 2020 now looks unachievable. The latest data from Hungary for example highlights the issue. Information from the Hungarian national police department (ORFK) shows that 530 people have been killed on the country’s roads in 2018. Hungary has seen an average of around 15,000 road crashes/year in recent times, with speeding identified as a frequent problem.

Related Content

  • Increasing fatality and injury levels on UK’s roads
    September 27, 2012
    Concern has been expressed in the UK over the release of accident statistics for 2011 that reveal an increase in road fatalities over the previous year. This is the first national rise in road deaths and serious injuries in 17 years. In all 1,901 people died on the UK’s roads in 2011, an increase of 3% of the figures for 2010 while those seriously injured rose 2% to 23,122. Interestingly, the number of fatalities fell for three types of road user, with a fall of 22% for bus and coach occupants, 10% for moto
    Read More
  • Kazakhstan’s high road risks claim lives
    February 1, 2018
    Kazakhstan has amongst the worst road safety of any country in the world. Around 3,000 people die in road crashes in the country every year, while a further 30,000 people are seriously injured. This worrying statistic reveals that Kazakhstan’s roads are so dangerous that around 24 people/1,000,000 of population are killed every year in road crashes. This figure shows that Kazakhstan’s roads are around 11 times more dangerous than those of Norway, one of the safest countries in the world for road travel.
    Read More
  • DUI is a problem for the US
    April 5, 2022
    DUI is a serious road safety problem for the US.
    Read More
  • European road deaths reduced but more to be done
    February 15, 2012
    While the EU target of reducing deaths by 50% has resulted in impressive figures, there is still more to be done as Patrick Smith reports. The latest statistics show European Union (EU) efforts to reduce road deaths by 50% have met with considerable success. As EU members look to the new European Action Programme for the period 2010 to 2020
    Read More

Highlighted Content