Skip to main content

Fall in EU road fatalities

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.
May 10, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Latest statistics show road fatalities fell in the 1116 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 1197 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.

Indeed, most EU member states saw a double digit drop in the number of road fatalities, with the highest reductions being seen in Luxembourg, Malta, Sweden and Slovakia (33%, 29%, 26% and 26% respectively), while Belgium also saw better than average road safety improvements during 2010, with the number of fatalities on its roads declining by 12% in 2010 (76 deaths for every 1 million inhabitants). Since 2000 the number of deaths on Belgium's roads has fallen by 44%, while in the EU the number of road fatalities is down 43%.

In July 2010 the European Commission adopted proposals to lower the number of road deaths in Europe by 50% by 2020.

In Germany, the country’s Federal Statistics Office, 5143 Destatis, says the number of people who died in road traffic incidents dropped 12% to 3,648 in 2010 compared to 2009, the lowest fatality rate on the German road network for 60 years, which is of note given the increase in population, vehicle numbers and total distance travelled by road.

However, the number of accidents registered by the police rose by 4.3% to an 11-year high of around 2.4 million.
However, in Romania, acknowledged as having the worst road system in the EU, followed closely by Bulgaria, the risk of serious injury or fatal accidents on its road network is eight times higher than for Sweden, which has Europe's best road safety record.

A study by the ETSC reveals that in 2009, 2,796 people died on Romanian roads, compared to 2,454 in 2001, an increase of 14%.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • France sees road safety gain
    September 20, 2023
    France is seeing a road safety gain.
  • Congestion and safety concerns over Serbia’s roads
    February 23, 2012
    With traffic flows on the increase, Serbia needs to improve its road network and safety record, reports Gordon Feller. Serbia's road network needs to upgrade its road system against the backdrop of increased traffic flows. Serbia is crossed by segments of the important Trans European network (TEN). Corridor X with its branches Xb (Belgrade-Budapest) Xc (Nis-Sofia), and Xd (Nis-Presevo), represent the most important transit routes in the Republic, connecting Austria/Hungary, Slovenia/Croatia, and Bulgaria/Ma
  • Single vehicle crash risk too high in Europe
    July 13, 2017
    Research shows that single vehicle crashes (SVCs) are a serious problem for road users in Europe. According to crash analysis, around 7300 road users in the EU were killed during 2015 in SVCs. The data also shows that around 94,800 people were killed in SVCs in the EU over the last 10 years.
  • Fatalities increased on US roads during 2012
    July 5, 2013
    Cause for concern comes from the US where the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency (NHTSA) has revealed an increase in road fatalities during 2012. The NHTSA’s statistical projection of traffic fatalities suggests that 34,080 people died in vehicle traffic crashes in 2012, an increase of about 5.3% over the 32,367 killed in 2011.