Cyprus recorded the third largest annual drop in road deaths and serious injuries in the European Union, while the majority of states failed to reduce their figures.
In 2022, the authorities reported 37 fatalities compared to 45 in the year before.
Road deaths on the island have decreased recently as those losing their lives on Cyprus roads dropped to 45 in 2021, down from 48 in 2020 and 52 in 2019.
According to data released by the European Transport Security Council (ETSC), Cyprus succeeded in pushing road deaths down 18%, placing it ninth among EU states with the least road deaths according to their population.
The same report indicates that 19 EU states recorded increased deaths caused by road accidents.
As it is understood, the increase is mainly due to lifting COVID-19 restrictions, which saw traffic resuming after lockdowns.
The 17th annual report was released within the framework of the Road Safety PIN (Performance Index) with data on road safety in the 27-member bloc, as well as in Switzerland, Israel, Norway, Serbia, and the United Kingdom.
According to the report, 20,678 people died on EU roads, recording an overall increase of 4% compared to 2021.
Norway is the safest PIN country for road users, with 21 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2022.
Sweden follows with 22 deaths per million inhabitants.
In the EU27, road mortality was 46 deaths per million inhabitants compared to 54 per million in 2012.
The highest mortality is in Romania and Serbia, with 86 and 83 road deaths per million inhabitants, respectively.
Road mortality was higher in 2022 than in 2012 in two countries- Malta and the Netherlands.
But despite the disappointing increase in road deaths in 2022, estimates say that without the progress recorded in the past decade, numbers would have exceeded 60,000.
The ETSC estimates the economic benefit to European societies from this reduction since 2012 at €104 bln.
Meanwhile, EU countries have also underperformed regarding reducing serious road injuries in the decade 2012-2022.
During 2012-2022 a decrease of only 14% was recorded, while the corresponding decrease in deaths was 22%.
Cyprus has recorded significant success in reducing serious injuries from 2012 to 2022, with a rate of 54.1%, the third highest in the EU, after Greece and Romania.
ETSC gave its 2023 Road Safety Award to Poland for the first time.
The country cut road deaths by 47% between 2012 and 2022, a rate only bettered by Lithuania, last year’s winner. The EU average reduction was 22%.
Road mortality stood at 50 per million in Poland last year, down from 93 per million in 2012.
