Hungary’s road safety statistics still below the EU average

The European Commission’s Road Safety Statistics measures the safest and most dangerous roads among the European Union’s member states and informs travellers which route they should choose if they travel by car or other vehicles. According to this document, the Hungarian situation improved in the last few years, but there are a lot of severe accidents in the country almost every day.

In 2018, around 25 100 road fatalities were reported by the 28 EU member states. This is a decrease of 21% compared to 2010. Last year, the average fatality rate in the 28 EU member states was 49 road deaths per 1 million inhabitants, which represents a 1% decrease compared to the previous year. This means that it is unlikely that the target of halving the number of road deaths by 2020 will be reached. Determined and well-focused efforts are now needed at all levels and across all sectors – reports the European Commission.

For every person killed in traffic accidents, about five more suffer serious injuries with life-changing consequences. Serious injuries are often more costly to society because of long-time rehabilitation and healthcare needs. The majority of those injured are vulnerable road users, i.e. pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers of powered two-wheelers. Vulnerable road-users account for an even higher proportion of those injured in towns and cities.

In 2017, 21% of all people killed on roads were pedestrians. In general, pedestrian fatalities have decreased at a lower rate than in the case of other road-users (by 15% from 2010 to 2017, compared to a total fatality decrease of 20%). Cyclists accounted for 8% of all road accident victims in 2017. The number of cyclist fatalities decreased by only 2% between 2010 and 2017, which is much lower than the total fatality decrease (20%). Motorcyclists accounted for 15% of road accident fatalities.

Femina reported that the safest roads are currently located in the United Kingdom, followed by Denmark, Ireland, and Sweden. In the UK, there are approximately 28 fatal accidents among 1 million residents each year, while in the countries after the UK, the number is 30, 31, and 32. According to the Commission’s report, the worst situation is in Romania where 92 fatal accidents happened among 1 million residents. The country is followed by Bulgaria (88), Latvia (78), and Croatia (77).

Hungary’s road safety performance is below the EU average. In 2018, 64 people per million inhabitants died on Hungarian roads, representing a 1% increase compared to the previous year. The statistics also revealed that the Hungarian road situation improved in the last nine years by 21%, but road accidents still happen, and the country needs to improve more in the future.

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons by Kleszczu