Road safety is always a major concern around Europe and statistics show that the target outlined in 2010 by the European Commission to reduce fatalities has not been reached.
The Union set a target of reducing road deaths by 50% compared to levels in 2010 by 2020 – while some progress has been made, statistics released in June 2019 highlighted that there was a 20.7% reduction which equals a 2.8% annual average reduction when a 6.7% reduction was required.
The failure to meet this target has made it clear that more needs to be done to improve road safety all around Europe, but statistics show that there are places which are much safer than others. Taking statistics from 2018 when there were 25,173 road deaths, we can see that there is a significant difference between nations and some countries need to take drastic action.
The Safest Roads
In terms of the safest roads in Europe, Norway led the way with around 20 road deaths per million inhabitants, followed by Switzerland and Great Britain with just under 30. Denmark, Ireland and Sweden followed with just over 30 deaths per million inhabitants. While these nations lead the way, there is still a lot more that needs to be done to bring these figures right down and to meet the new target of halving deaths by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.
The Most Dangerous Roads
At the other end, Bulgaria had the most number of deaths per million inhabitants with just under 100 closely followed by Romania. Serbia, Croatia, Latvia and Poland all had roughly 75 deaths per million inhabitants. It is in these countries where the most action needs to be taken in the coming years to make roads much safer for all and to drastically reduce fatalities.
Progress
While the statistics paint a somewhat gloomy picture, it is worth highlighting that progress has been made. Out of the 32 countries monitored by the ETSC Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) programme, exactly half managed to reduce the number of deaths in 2018. Slovakia managed a decrease of 17% followed by Israel with 13%, Slovenia with 12%, Lithuania also with 11% and Bulgaria with 10%.
The UK
While the UK is at the right end of the graph, it is clear that there is still a lot more that needs to be done to make roads safer and to reduce both fatalities and accidents. Strong political will, urgent measures and an increase in traffic law enforcement are all strategies which need to be used in the coming years to bring the levels down both nationally and internationally. Those that are involved in a car accident that was not their fault also should consider compensation in terms of receiving damages but also for holding reckless drivers accountable to make the roads safer for all.
With Europe failing to meet its 2020 target in relation to road traffic fatalities, it is important to find ways to make the roads safer for all throughout Europe. While some progress has been made, it is clear that not enough has been done and there are far too many fatalities both in the UK and all around Europe.
