Skip to main content

Estonia road safety issue

Estonia’s worrying road safety issue is causing concern.
By MJ Woof November 2, 2020 Read time: 1 min
Estonia’s roads suffer an increasing rate of crashes involving wild animals in the roadway - image © courtesy of Woravit Vijitpanya, Dreamstime.com
Newly released traffic data from Estonia shows a serious cause for concern. The number of crashes involving wild animals in the roadway has increased.

There have been more than 6,000 crashes involving wild animals in Estonia in the past two years. This compares poorly with data prior to 2015, when there were around 2,000-2,500 crashes involving wild animals/year.

According to the report, part of the problem is that existing highway fencing intended to prevent animals from reaching the roadway are not proving effective. Some have been holed, while others are too low and allow animals to jump over them.

New animal crossings are seen as the solution to the problem, although this will likely come at a cost.

Related Content

  • GHSA: Pedestrian deaths fall for second year
    July 18, 2025
    However, despite overall progress in the US, alarming trends continue for hit-and-run incidents, especially at night and in places where there are no sidewalks, according to the GHSA - Governors Highway Safety Association.
  • Stonehenge Bypass contract awarded to consortium
    October 3, 2022
    The Stonehenge Bypass contract has been awarded to a consortium.
  • Poor road safety causes too many deaths
    December 13, 2016
    Road safety is an issue that rarely grabs headlines, although it is something that affects people around the globe. Road deaths account for a shockingly high percentage of deaths worldwide, with the risks being particularly high in developing countries. This poses such a threat to public health that the United Nations has been taking steps to address the issue, commencing with its Decade of Action on Road Safety in 2010. The focus has been on developing countries, due to the rapid increase in road deaths in
  • Better road safety can save lives worldwide
    January 24, 2017
    Road safety is an issue that rarely grabs headlines, although it is something that affects people around the globe. Road deaths account for a shockingly high percentage of deaths worldwide, with the risks being particularly high in developing countries. This poses such a threat to public health that the United Nations has been taking steps to address the issue, commencing with its Decade of Action on Road Safety in 2010. The focus has been on developing countries, due to the rapid increase in road deaths in