Nearly 20,640 people lost their lives on EU roads during the year, 4% more than in 2021, according to figures published by the European Commission on Thursday 19 October.
While the underlying long-term trend is downwards – 9% less than in the year before the pandemic – it is not falling fast enough to meet the EU’s target of halving the number of deaths by 2030. In addition, progress continues to vary from one Member State to another. Lithuania and Poland have recorded the biggest reductions, by more than 30% between 2019 and 2022, although Poland’s mortality rate remains above the EU average.
Sweden, with 22 deaths per million inhabitants, and Denmark, with 26 deaths per million, are the countries with the safest roads. Romania and Bulgaria, with 86 and 78 deaths per million respectively, recorded the highest mortality rates in 2022. The EU average was 46 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2022.
Preliminary figures for the first six months of 2023 show that the number of deaths on EU roads has fallen slightly compared with the same period in 2022.
For more information: https://aeur.eu/f/95d (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)