Bulgaria still among worst road fatality rates in EU
Bulgaria continues to have among the worst road fatality rates in the European Union, as one of four countries reporting fatality rates of more than 90 dead per million inhabitants, the others being Latvia, Lithuania and Romania.
This is according to statistics released by the European Union on March 24 2015.
In Bulgaria, the road fatality rate – meaning fatalities per million inhabitants – was 105 in 2010, dropping to 83 in 2013 and rising again to 90 in 2014.
This means a drop by 16 per cent between 2010 and 2014, but a nine per cent increase from 2013 to 2014.
Across the EU, the road fatality rate was 62 in 2010, 51 in 2013 and 50.5 in 2014. Between 2010 and 2014, that meant a drop of 18 per cent and between 2013 and 2014, a drop of one per cent.
In 2014, the country specific statistics show that the number of road deaths still vary greatly across the EU.
The average EU fatality rate for 2014 is expected to be 51 road deaths per million inhabitants.
Malta, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom continue to report the lowest road fatality rates, with less than 30 deaths per million inhabitants.
Some European countries report a better than average road safety improvement over the years. This is the case of notably Greece, Portugal and Spain. Equally Denmark, Croatia, Malta, Cyprus, Romania, Italy, Slovenia and the Czech Republic report a reduction of road deaths above the EU average for 2010-2014.
Violeta Bulc, EU Commissioner for Transport said: “It’s sad and hard to accept that almost 70 Europeans die on our roads every day, with many more being seriously injured.
“The figures published today should be a wake-up call. Behind the figures and statistics there are grieving spouses, parents, children, siblings, colleagues and friends. They also remind us that road safety requires constant attention and further efforts.”
Bulc added: “We need to step up our work for the coming years, to reach the intended EU target of halving the number of road deaths by 2020. Let’s work together to make sure more people come home safely at the end of their journey. This is one of my priorities and should be one of the priorities of all governments in all the member states”
(Photo: Jason Conlon)
