Road safety in Hungary could be regarded as a success story in the 1990s. According to available figures, the number of road deaths dropped by 50% between 1990 and 2000. However, in recent years progress seems to have stalled. This is mainly due to a general lack of compliance by traffic participants with basic traffic and safety rules, with some 80% of all accidents resulting from these violations. The vehicle fleet in Hungary has grown from 2.5 million a decade ago to 3.14 million now. Safety improvements, however, have not kept up with this incremental trend. Hungary seems to suffer from a lack of political will to tackle road safety problems. There is also insufficient coordination of road safety measures combined with low levels of enforcement and road safety campaigns. These factors contribute to making Hungary one of the least safe countries in the former EU-25 – 127 road deaths per million inhabitants and 38 deaths per 100,000 vehicles. (Author/publisher)
Abstract