Publications
Every day in the European Union, more than eighteen children are seriously injured and one is killed in road traffic collisions. More than 6000 have died over the last decade. The impact of these deaths and life-changing injuries on families and communities is immeasurable. But they also carry an economic cost, which diverts resources that could have been used for education, improving health or other social goods. Children are particularly […]
Exceeding speed limits, drink- or distracted- driving, and failure to wear a seatbelt are among the important factors leading to death and serious injury on European roads. Road safety laws have been adopted to guide drivers in their behaviour. Many comply with them willingly. Others, however, would be less likely to comply if it were not for fear of being detected and sanctioned. This is where traffic law enforcement comes […]
This report looks at the progress made in Europe in reducing road deaths among young people. It is based on the latest available data from the 32 EU and non-EU countries that participate in ETSC’s Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) programme, examining trends over time as well as differences between countries, which are very significant. The format, now familiar to readers of past PIN reports, comes in three parts: Part […]
In 2011 the European Union set the ambitious target of halving the number of road deaths between 2010 and 2020. This was the second decade-long EU target period, the first having begun in 2001. This report looks at the progress made towards the 2020 target in EU Member States as well as other countries covered by ETSC’s Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) programme. The EU has set two new targets […]
In March 2020, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, most European governments put in place unprecedented restrictions on travel and movement including border closures, lockdowns for most of the population, closure of schools, workplaces, shops, leisure and sport facilities. This report assesses the impacts that had on road deaths in Europe during the month of April 2020 – by which time most countries were in lockdown. Out of 25 EU […]
22,660 people lost their lives on EU roads in 2019, representing a 3% reduction compared to 2018. Out of the 32 countries monitored by the ETSC Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) programme, 16 reduced road deaths in 2019. The best results were achieved by Luxembourg with a 39% decrease, Sweden with 32%, Estonia with 22% and Switzerland with 20%. Road deaths increased in 12 countries, while progress stagnated in four. […]
A letter from ETSC to European Commission for Transport Adina-Ioana Vălean on prioritising transport safety during and after the COVID-19 crisis. Download the letter.
The European Union (EU) is facing a multitude of interconnected demographic, public health and environmental challenges: the climate is changing; road deaths are stagnating; urbanisation is increasing, air pollution is worsening, obesity is rising and the population is ageing. But there is an increasing recognition at local, but also national and EU level, that boosting the levels of active mobility, particularly walking and cycling, can play an important role in […]
This report aims to provide an updated overview of the drink-driving situation in Europe, covering 32 countries: the 28 Member States of the European Union together with Israel, Norway, the Republic of Serbia and Switzerland. It looks at country progress in reducing road deaths attributed to drink driving over the past decade. The report highlights specific legislation and enforcement measures from across Europe. A range of recommendations concerning further improvements […]
In 2010, the European Union renewed its commitment to improve road safety by setting a target of reducing road deaths by 50% by 2020, compared to 2010 levels. This target followed an earlier target set in 2001 to halve the number of road deaths by 2010. A new target to halve road deaths and the first target to halve the number of serious road traffic injuries by 2030 compared to […]
Cities and towns are home to 72% of the population of the European Union. These are the places where the majority of journeys begin and end. These urban centres face multiple, often conflicting needs and challenges when it comes to managing the way people and goods move around. The nature of these challenges is also evolving. Urban populations are increasing, the population is ageing, people are being encouraged to walk […]
Speed is a major factor in overall road safety performance. Excessive and inappropriate speed is accountable for about one third of fatal collisions and is an aggravating factor in most collisions. 2,100 lives could be saved each year if the average speed dropped by only 1 km/h on all roads across the EU. Speeding on different types of road In the EU, 37% of all road deaths occur on urban […]
In 2010, the European Union renewed its commitment to improve road safety by setting a target of reducing road deaths by 50% by 2020, compared to 2010 levels. This target followed an earlier target set in 2001 to halve the number of road deaths by 2010. A new target to halve road deaths by 2030 compared to 2020 levels was announced by the European Commission on 17 May 2018. 25,250 […]
The goal of this PIN flash report is to gather information on road death data collection in different PIN countries and to find out if and how countries cross-check or complement road death data recorded by the police with alternative sources. The aim is to provide information to exchange good practice on how to improve road death data collection and recording. In all PIN countries the primary source of road […]