Death roads: these are the most dangerous roads in Hungary

The number of personal injury accidents increased last year. However, there are still fewer accidents than in the period before the pandemic. The proportion of drink-driving accidents has been on a downward trend over the last decade. Let us show you the roads where the most accidents happen in Hungary.

The number of accidents and injuries on Hungarian roads

According to recent data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), while the number of road accidents has decreased significantly in one part of the country, the number has increased sharply in other parts. In 2022, there were a total of 14,748 accidents on Hungarian roads. This is 3.4 percent more than in 2021, but still far fewer than in 2019 and previous years, Pénzcentrum reports.

The statistics also show that 475 or 3.2 percent of all road accidents were fatal. There were 4,309 serious accidents and 9,964 accidents with minor injuries. The number of people involved in accidents was 20,081, of which 537 were killed. 5,040 people were seriously injured and 14,504 slightly injured.

The causes of accidents

In 2022, 93.4 percent of road traffic accidents involving personal injury were caused by driver error, compared to only 4.6 percent caused by pedestrian error. Passengers were to blame for 0.3 percent of accidents, while technical defects were responsible for 0.4 percent. 1.3 percent of accidents were caused by road defects or other causes.

Of all vehicles, cars are the most frequent cause of accidents (68.1 percent), followed by cyclists (9.1 percent) and goods vehicles (8.4 percent). Pedestrians are responsible for only 4.7 percent of accidents.

Roads with the most accidents

KSH also published the most frequent places where accidents occur. Looking at the locations of road traffic accidents involving injuries to persons, 9,849 of the total (14,748) occurred inside and 4,899 outside built-up areas. On motorways, 568 accidents occurred in 2022, of which 25.7 percent on the M1, 23.1 percent on the M3, 21.1 percent on the M5, 4.9 percent on the M6 and 11.8 percent on the M7.

Number of drink-driving accidents decreased

The KSH data also show that the number and the proportion of drunk driving accidents as a percentage of all accidents has decreased significantly over the past decade. Interestingly, in 2020, the number of accidents caused by drink-driving itself did not show a spectacular drop, as did the number of accidents as a whole. This means that drink-drivers have not disappeared from the roads as a result of the pandemic.