The goal of the European Union is to halve the number of road deaths by 2030. Austria reduced the number of road deaths by 30.3 percent between 2012 and 2022. Only in Lithuania has the number of road deaths fallen by more than half in the past ten years. The country saw a 60 percent drop, according to data from the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). The average decrease in the EU during this period was 22.1 percent.
In addition to Lithuania, 13 other registered countries fall above this average. In 2022, there were a total of 20,679 road deaths in the EU, representing an increase of 4% compared to 2021. This means that every day an average of 56 people lost their lives on the roads in the EU-27, the UK, Norway, Switzerland, Israel and Serbia. These 32 countries are monitored as part of the PIN (Road Safety Performance Index) programme. Of these 32 countries, only 13 recorded a decrease in road fatalities in 2022 compared to 2021. Slovenia leads the list with a 25 percent decrease, followed by Latvia with 23 percent and Lithuania and Cyprus with 18 percent. In Austria, the number of road fatalities fell by 3.6 percent.
In 2012 there were still 63 road deaths per million inhabitants
In 2012, Austria registered 63 road deaths per million inhabitants, in 2022 there were 41. In 2012 there were 531 road deaths, in the previous year there were 370, a decrease of 30.3 percent. With 41 inhabitants per million, Austria is in 13th place together with Cyprus. Norway had the safest roads in Europe last year (21 deaths per million), followed by Sweden (22 deaths per million). Romania had the highest number of road fatalities with 86 per million inhabitants. On average, there were 46 road deaths per million inhabitants in the 27 EU countries.
Ten years ago that was 54 per million inhabitants. Although the number of 20,679 road deaths in 2022 is nine per cent lower than in 2019, the ETSC warns that a 17.2 per cent drop since 2019 would have been necessary to meet the EU and UN target of reducing road deaths by 2030 to push – based on the year 2019 – to halve, to achieve.
In 2023, 351 road deaths are feared
The Austrian road safety strategy 2021-2030 also provides for a reduction in the number of road deaths, starting with the years 2017 to 2019. According to this strategy, the number of road deaths should be halved from 413 to at least 206 by 2030. As calculations by the Austrian Council for Road Safety (KFV), on the basis of a linear scenario up to 2030 – in contrast to the previous two years – Austria could for the first time miss the desired intermediate target at the end of the year. To meet the fictitious target, there should be a maximum of 351 road deaths in Austria by the end of the year, but KFV forecasts say there could be 366. In comparison, in 2022, 370 people lost their lives on the roads.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
