Eurostat figures show a slight
decrease in road deaths in 2023, but with thousands dying every
year, what is the EU doing to change the situation and save
lives?
20,380 people were killed in road accidents in the EU during
2023, a decrease of 1.3 percent compared with 2022, according to
statistics published by Eurostat on Tuesday.
The figure has fallen by 16 percent between 2013 and 2023. While
numbers are down, there are significant differences between
countries.
Among the EU Member States, nine registered 50 fatalities or
more per million inhabitants; Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia,
Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Lithuania, Italy, and Poland.
At the other end of the scale Sweden, Denmark, Malta and Finland
reported the lowest numbers, with 22, 27, 30 and 33 fatalities
per million inhabitants, respectively.
Three of the four non-EU countries that Eurostat also released
data on, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, reported relatively
low rates of 20, 21 and 27 people per million.
Although the underlying 2023 road accident data had already been
made available by the European Commission in March through the
CARE database, Eurostat's release marks the official publication
of its own statistical interpretation of that data.
Preliminary figures for 2024 show that the number of road
fatalities in the EU continue to decline, albeit slowly, with a
drop of 3 percent.
Who are the most at-risk groups?
There are also large gender disparities in the Eurostat
statistics. Men accounted for almost three quarters of road
accident fatalities between 2013 and 2023 in the EU.
Studies show that men are more likely to drive after drinking
alcohol, wear seat belts less frequently, speed more often and
become distracted by phone use behind the wheel.
Alcohol consumption is a significant factor in road deaths. In
Spain, for example, it is responsible for 26 percent of fatal
road accidents.
"Boys are encouraged to take risks from a young age," said
Shirley Delannoy of Belgian traffic institute VIAS in an
interview with Belga news agency in February. "Girls, on the
other hand, are socialised to be more cautious and to follow the
rules."
She believes these gender norms translate into driving habits,
with women tending to be more defensive and preventive, while
men drive more assertively and take greater risks.
According to Pavel Havránek from the Czech Transport Research
Centre, fatal accidents caused by overtaking are on the decline
in Czechia. He also noted a drop in the number of victims among
children, young drivers, pedestrians, and in crashes involving
alcohol.
"On the other hand, we are concerned about the unsatisfactory
number of deaths of cyclists, seniors and motorcyclists. We must
focus on these risk groups and areas in order to achieve further
improvement," he adds.
Bulgaria rocked by death of 12-year-old girl
The high numbers of road deaths in some EU countries has led to
public anger.
Road safety came under intense public scrutiny in Bulgaria after
the tragic death of a 12-year-old girl in a crash on a national
road in the north of the country at the end of March.
Thousands of protesters across multiple cities and towns
demanded an end to the "war" on the roads, calling for tougher
laws and harsher penalties for traffic offenders.
In an interview with AFP in October 2024, Krasimir Arsov, whose
14-year-old son Filip was killed in a car accident, blamed
reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and an inefficient
justice system for the high number of fatalities.
In September 2023, Filip was run over by an inebriated driver in
Sofia whose speed of 88 kilometres per hour was three times the
limit.
"Before the accident I thought that we were living in a normal
country," Arsov, a 60-year-old engineer, said. "But when I spoke
to relatives of other victims, I realised that the state is not
protecting the lives of its citizens."
Since the fatal crash, Filip's parents have been fighting to
raise awareness of the issue to bring about change.
"There is nothing that can mend what has happened to us," said
his mother, Nikolina Petkova.
But she decried a "feeling of impunity" among offenders, a
widespread lack of compliance with the laws and a failure to
punish offenders. "The man who killed our son was convicted of
drunken driving 18 years ago, but got away with a simple fine
and reoffended," she said.
In response to the country's poor record, Bulgarian authorities
announced plans to improve safety on 36 critical road sections,
aiming to cut casualties and injuries by 20 percent.
The Road Infrastructure Agency has also published a detailed map
highlighting accident hotspots and introduced an action plan to
make these areas safer, which will be updated weekly.
Other EU countries are also bringing in stricter rules
In Italy, new laws were passed in November 2024 to increase
fines and make it easier to suspend the licence for those who
drive with a mobile phone in their hand or under the influence
of alcohol or drugs.
Sweden has the lowest road fatality rate in the EU, but it still
keeps on top of any upward trends.
An incoming change is a good example of this. The country has a
special system in which 15-year-olds are allowed to drive what
is formally considered a "tractor", with a maximum speed of 30
km/hour, without a proper licence.
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