Last year, 582 people died in traffic: 28 fewer than in 2020. The past year was the third year in a row that the number of road deaths declined. This is apparent from figures published by CBS (Statistics Netherlands) on 13 April. SWOV will further analyze which developments have contributed to this.
"The first question for us is whether this decline is a coincidence, a result of the corona crisis or whether other factors played a role. In addition, we would of course also like to know whether these figures have put an end to the stagnation in the decline in the number of road deaths," says SWOV director Martin Damen. "We must note that in 2008 it was still assumed that a reduction to a maximum of 500 road deaths in 2020 would be feasible, but that we have still not reached that point."
2030 and 2050 targets
The current road safety targets are even more ambitious than those for 2020: by 2030 the number of road casualties should be halved and by 2050 there should even be no more road casualties. "That is an enormous task and if we want to achieve it, far-reaching and sometimes less popular measures are required. We know that many measures have been proven to be effective, such as investing in safer road infrastructure and intensifying police enforcement."
The fact sheet Road deaths in the Netherlands takes a closer look at the CBS figures.
