Road Fatalities Have Fallen Steadily over the Past 20 Years

Comparing statistics over the last 20 years, the number of road fatalities in Hungary have fallen sharply. While 1,429 people died on the roads in 2002, this number fell to 472 by 2023.

Compared to 2022, the number of road deaths also fell last year. When looking at the overall pattern, however, 2020 saw the lowest number of road deaths in the last two decades, probably due to the pandemic and the resulting restrictions: 460 such incidents occurred that year. The graph published by MTI shows an almost continuous downward trend over the last 20 years.

The latest publication by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport illustrates EU statistics over the last 20 years, showing that while in 2001, there were 51,400 fatal road accidents in all Member States combined, in 2023, the figure was only 20,400. As the graph shows, 2020 saw the lowest number of road fatalities in the EU as a whole.

The latest statistics comparing road fatalities in the EU last year put Hungary roughly in the middle of the pack among Member States.

The EU average was 46 road deaths per million inhabitants. The number of road deaths per million inhabitants in Hungary in 2023 was 49.

The overall ranking of countries’ fatality rates has not changed significantly, with the safest roads still found in Sweden (22 deaths per one million inhabitants) and Denmark (27/million). Bulgaria (82/million) and Romania (81/million) reported the highest fatality rates in 2023

Since 2019, the number of road deaths has barely fallen in Spain, France, and Italy, while it has risen in Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Sweden.

In contrast, over the last four years, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, and Poland are on track to meet the 50% reduction target in road deaths,

the report says.

Via MTI, Europa.eu; Featured image: Pixabay