Despite recent improvements, Belgium still finds itself below the EU road casualty average. According to figures available in the CARE database, Belgium had one of the highest fatality rates within the EU-15 group in 2001, only ahead of Portugal and Greece. Presently, the country ranks 12 within the EU-25 group. Within its borders, figures vary according to region. Wallonia has a weak record, with 173 fatalities per million inhabitants whereas Flanders performs better with 119 fatalities per million inhabitants. The national average is 128 deaths per million inhabitants. More specifically, fatality rates among vulnerable road users are a cause for concern: in 2002, 108 cyclists and 132 pedestrians died on Belgian roads out of a total of approximately 1,350 road users. It is difficult to say whether fatalities have decreased considerably in the past 4 years as up-to-date data is not available. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting