EU Road Deaths Down by 3900 in 2020

16 June 2021

There were around 3900 fewer road deaths in the European Union in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to a new report by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC).

• Covid-19 pandemic travel decrease mainly responsible for a 17% drop in road deaths last year in the EU;
• Deaths dropped by 37% in the last ten years – short of the EU target to cut by 50% by 2020;
• Greece announced as the winner of the 2021 ETSC Road Safety Performance Index Award – with road deaths down by 54% in ten years;
• 2020 a “turning point” year - future reductions in road deaths in doubt without political leadership.

The 15th Annual Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) Report which is available here shows that 18,844 people lost their lives in road traffic in the EU in 2020, 10,847 fewer than in 2010, representing a 37% decrease. 56,305 lives were saved on EU roads compared to the number who would have been killed if deaths had stayed at the same level as in 2010. The saving in human costs resulting from this reduction in deaths was valued at some €156 billion, according to EU research.

Only one EU Member State exceeded the EU target to cut road deaths by 50% over the decade to 2020: Greece with a 54% reduction. Norway, a non-EU country, reduced the number of road deaths by 55%. Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Belgium, Slovenia, Italy, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Austria and Hungary achieved a decrease above the EU average of 37%, while other countries progressed to a lesser extent. The progress was slowest in the Netherlands with a 5% decrease and the UK with 14% in 10 years.