The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has awarded its 2023 Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) Award to Poland for the first time.
The country cut road deaths by 47 percent between 2012 and 2022, a rate only bettered by Lithuania, last year’s winner. The EU average reduction was 22 percent.
The number of road deaths per inhabitant stood at 50 per million in Poland last year, down from 93 per million in 2012. Norway had the safest roads in Europe with 21 per million, followed by Sweden at 22 per million.
The announcement coincides with new analysis published this month by ETSC which shows road deaths in the EU rose by four percent last year, to 20,679. That number is still nine per cent lower than in 2019, the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic dramatically altered traffic volumes. However, ETSC has warned that a 17.2 percent decrease would have been needed since 2019 in order to stay on track to reach the EU and UN target of halving the number of road deaths by 2030.
“In ten years, Poland has greatly improved road safety, and set an example on how to take the issue seriously,” said Avenoso, Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council.
“There has been a genuine commitment to setting targets, improving infrastructure and boosting enforcement, all key factors in this impressive reduction.”
