Last year there were around 3900 fewer road deaths in the EU than in 2019 (-17%). Over the past 10 years, the number of road deaths in the EU has decreased by 37%. The EU's target was to halve the number of road deaths by 2020. Greece and Portugal managed to meet that target, with a decrease of 54% and 51% respectively. The Netherlands achieved the smallest decrease: 5%. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) stated this in their 15th Road Safety Performance Index Report.
The lower number of road deaths in 2020 is most likely due to the Covid-19 restrictions, according to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), which resulted in less travel. For the time being, the counter for 2020 stands at 18,844 road deaths in the EU (2019: 22,776). Croatia, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, Italy, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Austria and Hungary recorded a drop above the EU average of 37%, while other countries made less progress. The progress was slowest in the Netherlands with a 5% decrease and the UK with 14% in 10 years.
How the corona crisis has affected road safety in the Netherlands will become clearer in the report The State of Road Safety in the Netherlands 2021 to be published at the end of this year.
