ETSC report highlights improvements in goods and passenger transport fatalities

12.00 | 19 April 2013 |

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has published figures which shows that progress in reducing road deaths associated with goods and passenger transport vehicles has been better than the overall reduction in road deaths.

According to the ETSC ‘Road Safety PIN Flash’ report, 4,254 people lost their lives in collisions involving heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), 3,999 in collisions with light goods vehicles (LGVs) and 722 in collisions involving buses or coaches. These figures are out of a total of 30,239 road deaths recorded in 2011 across the EU.

Car occupants made up half of people killed in collisions involving a HGV. Other significant casualty groups were pedestrians (15%), cyclists (7%) and powered two-wheeler riders (6%). Drivers and passengers of HGVs make up 12% of the deaths.

Antonio Avenoso, ETSC executive director, said: “Progress in reducing deaths in collisions with heavy goods vehicles and buses has been faster than the general reduction of road deaths in the EU.

“However, the number of deaths per distance travelled for heavy goods vehicles, as well as buses and coaches, is larger than for the average vehicle fleet, so we urge the EU and Member States to maintain their focus on these vehicles.

“ETSC strongly believes that the promotion and large-scale roll out of life-saving technologies – such as Intelligent Speed Assistance and alcohol interlocks – should be a priority for these vehicles. Training of road users will also reduce the number of road deaths in collisions with these types of vehicles.

“Moreover, as most of the HGVs, LGVs, buses and coaches in road traffic are driven in a work context, employers have an important role to play in implementing and even going beyond legislative efforts to improve the safety of large vehicles.”

Click here to download the report.

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