Skip to main content

Road risks from motor vehicles

Road safety risks are mainly from motor vehicles.
By MJ Woof March 30, 2021 Read time: 1 min
Vans and light commercial vehicles have the highest risk of involvement in crashes according to a new report – image © courtesy of Mike Woof
Fatalities and serious injuries that occur on roads are most likely to be caused by crashes involving motor vehicles. That is the conclusion of a new report from the European Transport Safety Commission (ETSC).

According to the report, the majority of deaths and serious injuries in road crashes are either to vehicle occupants or by people in an impact with a vehicle. In relation to distance travelled, crashes involving vans and light goods vehicles pose the highest percentage risk to other road users. The report also states that pedestrians and cyclists are those most at risk of death or serious injury in the event of a crash involving a motor vehicle. Meanwhile, motorcyclists face the highest rate of road fatalities in relation to distance travelled.

The report also highlights that in contrast, pedestrians and cyclists are rarely involved in collisions that result in the death of other road users.

Related Content

  • Safety concern on DUI in specific US states
    July 26, 2021
    There is a road safety concern on DUI in US states where marijuana use is legalised.
  • Police in Nepal hold road safety event
    September 10, 2014
    Nepal’s road traffic policing is improving to help tackle safety – information provided by World Highways correspondent Ram Krishna Wagle The police in Nepal recently held a road safety exhibition, aimed at reducing the casualty rate on the country’s road network.
  • Improving road safety for Spain
    February 1, 2013
    Spain continues to lower its road fatality rate, with 2012 being the 9th consecutive year in which crash-related deaths have been reduced. There were 1,304 fatalities on Spain’s roads during 2012, a drop of 180 compared with the previous year. The number of accidents involving pedestrians has also been reduced although the number of accidents involving motorcyclists was similar to the previous year. Of concern is that the fact that cyclist fatalities increased. Of those vehicle occupants killed, 22% were no
  • Road safety improvement for the US
    December 11, 2012
    The US is seeing improvements in road safety overall, with a drop in road crash statistics for 2011. The data for 2011 is encouraging and the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released a new analysis indicating that highway deaths fell to 32,367 in 2011. This marked the lowest level of road related fatalities since 1949, 1.9% decrease from the previous year. Furthermore, this updated 2011 data show the historic downward trend in recent years continu