Skip to main content

Europe’s road death rate still too high

There is widespread consensus across Europe that the road death rate remains too high. There was an average of 51 road deaths/million inhabitants in the EU during 2016. Overall, there was a 2% drop in the number of road deaths between 2015-2016 in the EU. But this 2% fall in 2016 followed a 1% increase in road deaths during 2015 and a plateau during 2014. Overall, the number of road deaths recorded in Europe has fallen by a mere 1% since 2013. Switzerland was the Road Safety PIN Award Winner 2017, with the
July 12, 2017 Read time: 1 min

There is widespread consensus across Europe that the road death rate remains too high. There was an average of 51 road deaths/million inhabitants in the 3287 EU during 2016. Overall, there was a 2% drop in the number of road deaths between 2015-2016 in the EU. But this 2% fall in 2016 followed a 1% increase in road deaths during 2015 and a plateau during 2014. Overall, the number of road deaths recorded in Europe has fallen by a mere 1% since 2013. Switzerland was the Road Safety PIN Award Winner 2017, with the country recording a new drop in road deaths to 26/million inhabitants. This represents a 15% reduction between 2015 and 2016. Overall Switzerland has seen a 34% drop in road deaths between 2010 and 2016. This compares favourably with the 19% drop in road deaths for Europe as a while during this period.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Road deaths continue to fall in many countries
    June 4, 2015
    The latest information from IRTAD, the permanent working group on road safety at the International Transport Forum, shows that road deaths are falling in many countries worldwide. There were 42% fewer road deaths in IRTAD countries since 2000. However, strong disparities exist between countries, according to IRTAD’s latest data. In all 70 organisations from 39 countries are members of IRTAD. The 2014 provisional data show that 15 of the IRTAD member countries for which figures are available managed to red
  • 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.
  • The global road safety crisis needs to be addressed
    October 12, 2017
    The global road casualty rate continues to climb as motorisation levels grow and is particularly acute in the developing world. Developing countries suffer from a particularly high rate of crashes and around 90% of road fatalities. The impact, both in economic and human terms, is unsustainable. These countries cannot afford the loss to their economies of the young and economically active.
  • The global road safety crisis needs to be addressed
    October 12, 2017
    The global road casualty rate continues to climb as motorisation levels grow and is particularly acute in the developing world. Developing countries suffer from a particularly high rate of crashes and around 90% of road fatalities. The impact, both in economic and human terms, is unsustainable. These countries cannot afford the loss to their economies of the young and economically active.