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The 2015 road safety statistics published yesterday by the European Commission confirm that European roads remain the safest in the world despite a recent slowdown in reducing road fatalities. 26, 000 people lost their lives on EU roads last year, 5, 500 fewer than in 2010. There is however no improvement at EU level compared to 2014. In addition, the Commission estimates that 135, 000 people were seriously injured on EU roads. The social cost (rehabilitation, healthcare, material damages, etc.) of road fatalities and injuries is estimated to be of at least €100 billion.

EU Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said "Every death or serious injury is one too many. We have achieved impressive results in reducing road fatalities over the last decades but the current stagnation is alarming. If Europe is to reach its objective of halving road fatalities by 2020, much more needs to be done. I invite Member States to step up efforts in terms of enforcement and campaigning. This may have a cost, but it is nothing compared to the €100 billion social cost of road fatalities and injuries. For its part, the Commission will continue to act where it can bring a clear European added-value. Technology and innovation are increasingly shaping the future of road safety. In the medium to long term, connected and automated driving, for instance, has great potential in helping to avoid crashes, and we are working hard to put the right framework in place."

The average EU fatality rate for 2015 was 51.5 road deaths per 1 million inhabitants, similar to the past two years. This slowdown, which follows a significant reduction of 8% in 2012 and 2013, has several contributing factors, such as a higher interaction between unprotected and motorised road users in our cities. Vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, etc.) also account for a large proportion of the 135 000 people the Commission estimates[1] were injured. This is the first time the Commission publishes such a figure, as EU Member States have started to report comparable and reliable data on serious road traffic injuries. This is the first step towards a European approach to serious injuries.

The country-specific statistics (see below) reveal that the number of road fatalities still varies greatly across the EU, though this gap is becoming smaller every year. Some traditionally well-performing countries recorded less progress while three of the Member States with the highest number of road deaths improved their road safety situation.

Improving EU road safety

In order to reach the EU strategic target of halving the number of road deaths from 2010 to 2020, additional efforts are needed. Member States are the main actors as most of the day-to-day actions are delivered at national and local level: enforcement of traffic rules, infrastructure development and maintenance but also education and awareness raising campaigns. The European Commission acts where there is a clear EU added-value, for instance through legislation enabling the enforcement of cross-border traffic offences or by setting technical safety standards for infrastructure and vehicles. The Commission actively monitors the situation, stimulates and helps Member States to improve their performance through the exchange of data, knowledge and experience, and by sharing best practices.

Technological breakthroughs in the last decade have greatly improved vehicle safety. The significant advances in innovation and technology have a strong future potential to improve road safety, in particular in the area of vehicle automation and connectivity. To pave the way towards automation and better management of traffic, the Commission aims to develop a master plan on the deployment of cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) – a two-way communication between vehicles, with and between road infrastructure – in the second half of 2016. Such systems allow vehicles to warn each other directly (e.g. in case of emergency breaking) or through the infrastructure (e.g. upcoming road works).

For more information

MEMO/16/864

Commission's road safety work and EU road safety statistics

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Annex

Road deaths per million inhabitants - Preliminary country by country statistics for 2015

[1] 2014 data

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