Preliminary figures on road fatalities in the EU for 2024 show a slight 3 per cent drop compared to 2023, with around 19,800 people killed in road crashes in the EU last year.
Thjis equates to 600 fewer lives lost. However, while road fatalities decreased more significantly in 2024 than they did in 2023, the overall pace of improvement remains too slow, says the European Commission, and most EU Member States are not on track to meet the EU’s goal of halving road deaths by 2030. The Commission introduced in 2023 a package of proposals to improve road safety, which included updated driving licence requirements and cross-border enforcement, and new roadworthiness legislation will be adopted to reduce unsafe vehicles on EU roads.
Road Safety progress across the EU remains uneven, says the report, with some countries making significant strides while others struggle to reduce fatalities. Over the past five years, Greece, Spain, France, and Italy have seen only modest declines in road deaths, while Ireland and Estonia have experienced an increase – although annual fluctuations in smaller countries tend to be more pronounced. In contrast, Bulgaria, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia are making strong progress toward the 50% reduction target.
Sweden and Denmark remain the safest countries in terms of road safety, with low fatality rates of 20 and 24 deaths per million inhabitants, respectively. Meanwhile, Romania (77/million) and Bulgaria (74/million), which still have some of the highest fatality rates, have made significant progress in reducing road deaths, with declines of over 20% since 2019. The EU average is 44 road deaths per million inhabitants.
Rural roads continue to pose the greatest risk, with 52% of fatalities occurring on these roads. The majority of road deaths (77%) involve men, while older adults (65+) and young people (18-24) are particularly vulnerable road users. In terms of road user type, car occupants account for the largest share of fatalities, followed by motorcyclists (20%), pedestrians (18%), and cyclists (10%). Vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, make up nearly 70% of urban fatalities, highlighting the urgent need for improved safety measures to protect them.
Road deaths – preliminary data for 2024
Source: EU CARE database on road crashes and national sources; Population data is from Eurostat
