Five EuroRAP member states have the lowest road fatality rates in the world according to the newly released Road Safety Annual Report 2016.
Published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the report is compiled by the International Traffic Safety Data and Analysis Group (IRTAD) and contains the most recent road safety data and up-to-date information on road safety measures and strategies for 40 countries worldwide.
The report states that Iceland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland recorded three or less deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2014. Over a five year period from 2010, dramatic decreases in road deaths were also recorded in many European countries: in Norway, for example, deaths fell by 43.3% in that period.
The report also notes two widespread trends across Europe:
• Up to 2014, there were strong decreases in road traffic deaths in countries that were particularly badly affected by the economic downturn. In Portugal and Spain, deaths fell by 32% in this period.
• There was a small but significant increase in road deaths in 2014 and 2015, reversing the downward trend of recent years. In Germany, for instance, road deaths increased by almost 3%.
The report is a rich source of detailed safety data for most European countries. It includes analysis by road user, age group and type of road. It also describes the crash data collection process in IRTAD countries, the road safety strategies and targets in place and information on recent trends in speeding, drink-driving and other aspects of road user behaviour.
You can view the report here.