Countries making the most progress on road safety in Europe.

The Baltic States, together with Greece and Portugal, were the best performing countries in the EU according to a new report on the progress made reducing road deaths in Europe since 2010, published by the European Transport Safety Council.

• Estonia, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia and Portugal have reduced road deaths the most since 2010
• Estonia to receive the 2020 European Transport Safety Council Road Safety Performance Index Award

Road deaths in Malta, the Netherlands and the UK were higher in 2019 than in 2010.

Estonia has been awarded this year’s ETSC Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) award. This Baltic State now has a level of road mortality (road deaths per million inhabitants) comparable to The Netherlands – a remarkable accomplishment and a reflection of significant investment and strategic leadership on road safety over several years.  

Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council, commented:

“While progress across Europe has disappointed over the last nine years, some countries have been quietly undergoing a road safety revolution.  We’re delighted to award Estonia this year for its remarkable progress, following Ireland’s win in 2019.”

“Overall, EU Member States will need to step up a gear to hit the new targets for 2030.  But the recent response to the Covid-19 epidemic may signal a way forward.  A dramatic shift to walking and cycling in urban areas, combined with infrastructure changes and lower speed limits, could have a massive impact on road death and injury.  But if we just revert to business-as-usual after this crisis, the results could be even worse than before.  There are danger signs already in the large numbers of speeding offences being reported as lockdowns are lifted, which only adds to the work of overstretched police and emergency services.”

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To download the report please click here.