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

  • European road safety alert
    December 18, 2024
    A European-wide road safety alert!
    Read More
  • Road safety’s slow gain in Europe
    June 27, 2018
    Europe is seeing an improvement in road safety, but at a slower rate than hoped for. Official data shows that 25,250 people were killed in road crashes in the EU during 2017, a 2% drop from the figure recorded for 2016. Furthermore, road deaths have dropped just 3% in the last four years in the EU, with casualty reduction targets not being met. There are 32 countries listed in the PIN programme intended to cut road deaths and 22 of these nations did record improvements in road safety. Estonia managed to
    Read More
  • Safety improvements in developed nations
    August 20, 2013
    At a time when road safety is posing a significant threat to both human health and economic development around the world, it is worth noting that in many developed nations the situation is improving. The United Nations has identified road safety as a major problem and established its Decade of Action for Road Safety for the 2010-2020 period, in a bid to cut the growing death toll. But while developing nations are seeing a vast growth in vehicle numbers and road fatalities, the improving road safety situ
    Read More
  • Fall in EU road fatalities
    May 10, 2012
    Latest statistics show road fatalities fell in the European Union by 11% in 2010 compared with the previous year. Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Spain, Luxembourg, Sweden, France and Slovenia have all made reductions of more than 50% in the number of deaths on their roads since 2001, says the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). The organisation’s 2011 PIN [Road Safety Performance Index] Awards went to Sweden and Lithuania recognising their particular efforts in reducing road deaths.
    Read More

Highlighted Content