Cyprus ranks 18th in the EU in road deaths

Cyprus ranks 18th in the EU in road deaths, according to the 14th annual Road Safety PIN Report published today by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), as part of the Road Safety PIN (Performance Index) program.

According to the report, specifically, during 2019 in Cyprus there was an increase of 6.1% in road deaths. In numbers, 52 road deaths were recorded, 3 more than in 2018. It is noted that in the last 8 years there has been a continuous fluctuation in road deaths in Cyprus, with an average of 50 deaths per year. With the last year`s increase in the number of deaths, Cyprus has fallen from 17th to 18th place in EU27, in deaths per capita.
 
The Baltic States, together with Greece and Portugal, were the best performing countries in the EU according to the new report on the progress made reducing road deaths in Europe since 2010, published today by the European Transport Safety Council. 

According to a press release, issued by the ETSC, Estonia will be awarded this year’s ETSC Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) award at an online event.  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.  

The new analysis also shows that two of Europe’s traditional leaders on road safety: the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, while remaining relatively safe when compared on road mortality, had more road deaths in 2019 than in 2010.  France, Sweden and Germany have also shown disappointing progress over the last nine years with only modest reductions in deaths.  Bulgaria and Romania remain Europe’s worst performers in terms of road mortality and have also made below-average reductions in recent years. 

The EU, and its Member States, agreed a target to cut road deaths by half in the decade to 2020. With one year left until full data for 2020 are available, that target will almost certainly be missed.  That is likely to be the case even taking account of the significant drop in road deaths that have occurred in several countries in recent months as a result of Covid-19 lockdown policies. 


“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,” Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council, said commenting on the report.