Τhe European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) recently published a new Report titled “Improving the Road Safety of E-scooters“. This Report calls for the development of mandatory technical requirements for all e-scooters sold in the European Union, highlighting the need for stronger road safety measures across Europe. Key recommendations include stricter e-scooter safety standards, such as a 20 km/h speed limit, to address rising urban safety concerns. Enhanced regulations aim to ensure safer roads for all users.  

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has published a Position Paper titled “EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034 Funds for Road Safety“. In this paper, ETSC presents recommendations for funding for road safety initiatives within the next long-term EU budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). These recommendations should support work towards meeting EU’s Vision Zero target of reducing road deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030, paving the way for safer roads across Europe.  

The European Union Road Federation (ERF) has released the Road Statistics Yearbook 2024” with the active contribution of NTUA. As for many years, this publication provides the road community with important updated information on road transport sector and road infrastructure in Europe and beyond as an essential key element of the global mobility with one section focusing on road safety. 

The European Commission published the latest figures on Road safety in the EU, showing that 20,400 people were killed in road crashes in 2023, a 1% decrease in relation to 2022. While the underlying long-term trend is downward (-10% compared to 2019), the current pace of decline falls short of the required 4.5% annual reduction needed to achieve the EU’s goal of halving road deaths by 2030.  Preliminary figures for the first six months of 2024 indicate the number of deaths on EU roads has remained the same, compared with the same period in 2023. 

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, 21% of car drivers report to have driven while having trouble keeping eyes open in the past 30 days. The highest self-declared rates of fatigue while driving correspond to Luxembourg (31%), while the lowest are recorded in the United Kingdom (13%).  

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, mobile phone use is more frequent self-declared among car drivers (28%) compared to PTW riders (21%) and cyclists (21%). Furthermore, 69% of pedestrians declare to text or check social media, while walking in the streets, while the highest rates of mobile phone use for car drivers are found in Luxembourg (41%).  

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, PTW riders declare to drink and drive more often (20%) compared to cyclists (17%) and car drivers (12%). The highest self-declared drinking and driving rates for PTW riders were observed in Ireland (36%), while the highest respective rates for car drivers were recorded in Luxembourg (24%).  

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, cyclists report higher non-helmet use rates (63%) compared to PTW riders (29%). The highest self-declared travelling without helmet rates for cyclists were recorded in the Netherlands (88%), while the highest respective rates for PTW riders were observed in Bosnia and Herzegovina (52%).  

The International Road Federation (IRF) released the 61th edition of the IRF World Road Statistics 2024 (WRS2024), with data now open to all for free through the IRF WRS Data Warehouse platform, thanks to the generous support of the TotalEnergies Foundation and Michelin Corporate Foundation. The IRF WRS 2024 continues to be the major comprehensive, universal source of statistical data on road networks, traffic and inland transport, including traffic crashes. This year the WRS 2024 includes the latest data covering years 2017 to 2022, with the active contribution of NTUA for the Greek data. It includes over 200 road and transport-sector related indicators across 11 sections, covering more than 200 countries and territories.  

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, car passengers in the back seat report higher non-seat belt use rates compared to car drivers.  The highest self-declared travelling without wearing seat belt rates both as car driver and as car passenger in the back seat correspond to Bosnia and Herzegovina (48% and 84% respectively), while the lowest self-declared rates of non-seatbelt use both as a car driver and as a car passenger were observed in Luxembourg (5% and 16% respectively).  

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, car drivers report speeding more often (61%) than PTW riders (45%). The highest self-declared speeding rates were observed in Luxembourg for car drivers and in Latvia for PTW riders, while the lowest self-declared rates of speeding for car drivers correspond to the United Kingdom (40%) and for PTW riders to France (25%).  

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, 21% of car drivers report to have driven while having trouble keeping eyes open in the past 30 days. Self-declared fatigue rates were higher in Asia-Oceania than in Europe and America. Moreover, the highest self-declared rates of fatigue while driving correspond to Luxembourg and Panama (31%).  

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, 67% of pedestrians declare to text or check social media while walking in the streets. Mobile phone use is more frequent self-declared among car drivers (31%) compared to PTW riders (23%) and cyclists (23%). Furthermore, the highest rates of mobile phone use for car drivers and cyclists are found in America (31% and 23% respectively), while Europe recorded the highest rates for pedestrians (64%) and Asia-Oceania for PTW riders (25%).  

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, self-declared drinking and driving rates do not differ much between regions. More precisely, PTW riders declare to drink and drive more often (19%) compared to cyclists (15%) and car drivers (12%). Moreover, the highest self-declared drinking and driving rates for PTW riders were observed in Kazakhstan (37%).  

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, cyclists report higher non-helmet use rates compared to PTW riders, with 60% of cyclists reporting cycling without wearing helmet at least once in the past 30 days. Furthermore, self-declared travelling without helmet rates for PTW riders are generally lower in European and American compared to Asia-Oceanian countries.  

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, car passengers in the back seat report higher non-seat belt use rates compared to car drivers. Furthermore, self-declared travelling without wearing seat belt rates are higher in America and Asia-Oceania than in Europe. It is remarkable that the highest self-declared travelling without wearing seat belt rate as car driver corresponds to Uzbekistan (61%) and as car passenger in the back seat to Kyrgyzstan (94%).  

According to the Ε-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, car drivers (53%) state speed limit violations more often than PTW riders (43%). Self-declared speeding rates are higher in Europe than in America and Asia-Oceania. It is remarkable that the highest self-declared speeding rates were observed in Luxembourg for car drivers and in Latvia for PTW riders.  

According to the European Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, 52% of total car drivers state speed limit violations outside built-up areas at least once in the last 30 days. Pedestrians declare the highest rate of distraction (81%), followed by car drivers (33%), cyclists (19%) and PTW riders (16%). Remarkable is that more than 50% of car passengers and cyclists report travelling at least once in the last 30 days without seat belt or protective helmet.  

The new EU road fatalities by area and road type table of the NTUA Road Safety Observatory, based on European Commission CARE data for 2022, provides an overall view of the distribution of fatalities between the different road types. According to this table, only 9.3% of road fatalities in EU-24 occurred in motorways and 53% of road fatalities occurred on non motorway rural roads. 

The new EU road fatalities by road user type table of the NTUA Road Safety Observatory, based on European Commission CARE data for 2022, provides an overall view of the distribution of fatalities between the different road users. It can be clearly observed that car drivers are the largest road user group among road fatalities in all EU countries. Furthermore, together with car passengers, car drivers account for 53% of all fatalities. 

According to the provisional data from CARE database and European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), road fatalities in Europe in 2023 presented a slight decrease (1%) compared to 2022 figures and have decreased by 16% during the period 2013-2023, leading to 3,808 less road fatalities (2023) in comparison to 2013. Furthermore, five countries (BE, LT, LU, PL, SI) have reached reduction of more than 30% for the period 2013-2023. Since 2013, Poland has recorded the best road fatalities reduction progress among all EU countries. 

According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) road crash data for 2022, come off the road and at angle collisions are the most common crash types outside built-up areas. Moreover, pedestrian crashes, at angle collisions, side impact and rear end collisions are the most common crash types inside built-up areas. However, crash severity is almost 9 times higher outside built-up areas at pedestrian crashes. 

According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) road crashes data for 2022 in Greece, car occupants and motorcyclists account for more than half of fatalities and road crashes (69% and 78% respectively). Most car occupant fatalities occur outside built-up areas, while most motorcycle and pedestrian fatalities occur inside built-up areas. In addition, crash severity is higher outside built-up areas for all transport modes. 

According to the latest Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) data for 2022, the majority of road crashes and fatalities occurred during daylight with clear sky, both inside and outside built-up areas. Furthermore, 20% of road fatalities occurred during night with good street lighting. However, crash severity is increased at night with no street lighting and during raining weather conditions. 

According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) data, among the 654 persons killed in Greece in 2022: 342 were outside built-up areas and 312 were inside built-up areas. Half of road fatalities occurred outside built-up areas on national roads, despite the significant amount of vehicle kilometers driven. Furthermore, more than 80% of road crashes and almost half of fatalities occurred inside built-up areas. However, crash severity is 5 times higher outside built-up areas in total. 

According to Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) data, 654 persons were killed in Greece in 2022: 464 drivers, 78 passengers and 112 pedestrians. In 2022, male drivers accounted for 66% of all road fatalities in Greece, while male drivers aged 15-24 years old accounted for 16% of male driver fatalities. The highest fatality severity rate is observed among elderly people over 65 years old. 

According to Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) data, 654 persons were killed in Greece in 2022: 464 drivers, 78 passengers and 112 pedestrians.  Since 2021, there is a slight increase in pedestrian fatalities, from 15% to 17% of total road fatalities. Furthermore, older pedestrians account for 61% of pedestrian fatalities, while drivers account for 81% of all road crashes. 

Basic characteristics of road fatalities in Greece for the period 2012-2022 are summarised in a comprehensive infographic prepared by the NTUA Road Safety Observatory (data source: ELSTAT). According to these time series data, a spectacular decrease in road fatalities for moped riders (-40%), in junctions inside (-42%) and outside built-up areas (-71%) was observed during the period 2012-2022.  

The new EU road fatalities interactive infographic of the NTUA Road Safety Observatory, based on European Commission CARE data for 2022, allows for performance comparisons for different types of road crashes. It is demonstrated that disaggregate data can reveal hidden road safety problems, allowing national Authorities to focus on targeted road safety countermeasures.  

Road fatalities in Greece in 2023 presented a slight decrease (5%) compared to 2022 figures, according to the provisional ELSTAT data. During the period 2013-2023, Greece presented an impressive road safety improvement in the European Union, with a decrease of 29% in road fatalities since 2013 and a decrease of serious injuries of 46%. The rate fatalities per million vehicles has decreased by 37% since 2013.