The number of road deaths in Austria has risen sharply in the first three months. According to definitive data, 73 people have died on the road since the beginning of the year, 25 more than in the first quarter of the previous year.
That reports the Verkehrsclub Österreich (VCÖ), citing its own data, the Ministry of the Interior and Statistics Austria. There is a risk that the road safety objective will again be clearly missed. According to VCÖ spokesman Christian Gratzer, Austria had already missed the road safety target in 2020 – fewer than 312 deaths – with 344.
Number in Lower Austria and Styria higher
In a comparison of the states of Styria and Lower Austria, the number of road deaths has risen this year, at 19 each, in seven of the nine states, the VCÖ reported.
Decline in Salzburg and Upper Austria
Only Salzburg and Upper Austria showed a decline. In these federal states, the number of road deaths was higher last year. “Even before Corona, in the first quarter of 2019, the number of road deaths was lower than this year,” Gratzer said.
Reduction planned by 2030
The current target is a reduction to fewer than 195 road deaths by 2030 (minus 50 percent compared to the average for the years 2018 to 2020). “Austria would do well to follow the example of the most traffic-worthy countries in Europe and to take effective measures in this country too,” emphasized the VCÖ. The safest states would have lower speed limits. Austria still has a lot to catch up on when it comes to cycling infrastructure.
Source: Krone
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