Road deaths fell by 36.6% in Cyprus between 2011 and 2021. according to the European Transport Safety Council’s latest annual Road Safety Performance Index report. The European Transport Safety Council is a non-profit making dedicated to reducing the numbers of deaths and injuries in transport in Europe.
According to ETSC’s latest annual Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) report, published today, road deaths in the EU27 in 2021 were reduced collectively by an unprecedented 13% compared to 2019. ETSC says this reduction can, to a large extent, be attributed to mobility changes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and there is no guarantee that this progress can be maintained if traffic volumes revert to the way they were before the pandemic.
In 2021, a total of 19.823 lost their lives in road accidents in the EU, compared to 28.865 deaths in 2011, marking a decrease of 31%.
The largest decrease in road deaths in the EU was recorded between 2011 and 2014, when the number dropped by 16%. Only a small decrease of 7% was recorded between 2015 and 2019.
The number of road deaths also decreased drastically by 17% in 2020 compared to 2019, due to the measures imposed because of the pandemic. In 2021, road deaths increased by 5% compared to 2020 in parallel to the gradual lifting of the measures.
When it comes to the ratio of road deaths to population, Cyprus climbed to the 17th position among the 27 member states, up from the 21st position last year.
Between 2011 and 2021, serious road injuries across the EU saw only a slight decrease. There was a rapid decrease by 13% in 2020 compared to 2019 due to pandemic measures. Injuries remained stable in 2020, down by only 0.5% compared to 2020.
Cyprus was the country with the third largest reduction (55%) of serious road injuries between 2011 and 2021, following Greece and Romania.
Lastly, it was announced that Lithuania is the winner of this year’s ETSC Road Safety Performance Index Award, in recognition of major improvements in road safety over the last decade. Out of the European countries tracked by ETSC, Lithuania was the only EU country to halve road deaths between 2011 and 2021.
Source: Cyprus News Agency