The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) published relative accident rates in the capitals of European Union countries. According to these data, last year in Berlin, per 100 thousand residents, 1.64 people died in road accidents, in Paris – 1.70, and in Helsinki – 1.93. On average, in the capitals of European states, the rate of road traffic fatalities was 3.95 people.
More than 40 million people live in the capitals of EU countries – that's 8% of the total EU population. In total, over 10 years, 24 thousand people died on the roads in the Union's capitals, 1.5 thousand in the last year. Experts noted that across Europe, the level of road safety is growing faster in large cities than in the provinces. However, researchers are concerned by the fact that every second death on the road is a pedestrian or cyclist. Another 20% of fatalities are motorcyclists, and only 25% die while inside a car. ETSC representatives urge the authorities of European cities to pay attention to this and take measures to protect the most vulnerable road users.
Among the possible measures to reduce this type of accident, they mention lowering the maximum permissible speed in residential areas, as for example was done in Oslo, Norway, where in dangerous zones there are restriction signs marked '30'.
Moreover, researchers recommend looking to the experience of London, where special attention is paid to building additional crossings and pedestrian bridges in areas of historical landmarks. In general, in the British capital in recent years there has been good progress in improving safety. Experts attribute this to a doubling of spending on road safety over the last 8 years, as well as the widespread installation of surveillance cameras on the most accident-prone streets of the British capital, which record all cases of speeding and driving under prohibited signs.
The greatest progress in improving road safety was found in Dublin. Over the last 10 years, the road fatality rate in the Irish capital has decreased by 70%. There, local authorities spent considerable sums on additional signs, pedestrian and bicycle paths, educational programs for schoolchildren, and advertising campaigns.
In general, a clear line is visible in the ranking between Western and Eastern Europe. The further east, the lower the level of road safety in cities.
The most dangerous roads turned out to be in the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, where last year 12.98 people died per 100 thousand residents. Safety also leaves much to be desired on the roads of the capital of Latvia, Riga, where last year 9.69 people died in road accidents, in Slovakia's Bratislava – 6.57, and in Poland's Warsaw – 6.45.
The only capital city where not a single fatality from a road traffic accident has been recorded since 2001 is the capital of Malta, Valletta – one of the most car-dense European cities per capita. However, as ETSC notes, the population of this city is only 6,300 people.
Yaroslav GRONSKY.
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