Special Envoy for Road Safety Meets with Belgian and EU Officials in Brussels miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
EU reveals ‘unprecedented’ fall in road deaths
12.29 | 21 April 2021 | Statistics
The European Commission says the Covid-19 pandemic has had a ‘clear, though unmeasurable’, impact on road fatalities.
Preliminary figures published by the Commission on 20 April show an estimated 18,800 people were killed on EU roads last year, an ‘unprecedented’ annual fall of 17%.
This means almost 4,000 fewer people lost their lives compared to 2019.
The reduction was far from uniform – with the largest decreases (of 20% or more) occurring in Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Malta and Slovenia.
In contrast, five member states (Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg and Finland) recorded an increase in fatalities, although the Commission notes the figures in small countries tend to fluctuate from year to year.
EU’s roads by far the safest in the world
Over the previous decade between 2010 and 2020, the number of road deaths dropped by 36%. This was short of the target of 50% fewer deaths that had been set for that decade. However, with 42 road deaths per 1 million inhabitants, the EU remains the continent with the safest roads in the world. As a comparison, the world average lies at more than 180.
Based on preliminary figures, 18 Member States registered their lowest ever number of road fatalities in 2020. EU-wide, deaths fell by an average of 17% compared to 2019 though the reduction was far from uniform with the largest decreases (of 20% or more) occurring in Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Malta and Slovenia. In contrast, five Member States (Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg and Finland) recorded an increase in fatalities although the number in small countries tends to fluctuate from year to year.
Road safety: 4,000 fewer people lost their lives on EU roads in 2020 as death rate falls to all-time low europeansting.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from europeansting.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.