Cyprus recorded a 43% reduction in serious road injuries in the decade leading up to 2023, according to the report of the European Road Safety Program Road Safety PIN (Performance Index) which presents data in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU), as well as Switzerland, Israel, Norway, Serbia and the United Kingdom.
The report, published today by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), states, however, that progress in reducing serious road injuries in the EU is not as expected, in line with the target set by the EU for a 50% reduction from 2020 to 2030, as it only amounted to 13%.
According to the report, approximately 1.291.000 road traffic injuries are recorded in the EU each year, of which 141.000 are serious. A large proportion of serious injuries cause permanent disabilities and other serious lifelong problems. In Cyprus, 2024 serious road traffic injuries were recorded in 226, based on the national definition.
It is noted that given the fact that there are significant differences in the definition of serious injury between EU Member States, as well as in the other countries participating in the PIN program, the EU has defined the hospital definition MAIS3+, in order to ensure the possibility of comparison between countries. Another reason for the adoption of MAIS3+ is the incomplete recording of all injuries by the Police, in some countries. In Cyprus, there is no problem in recording road injuries, especially serious ones. Cyprus began to systematically record serious road injuries with the MAIS3+ classification, since 2017.
Recognizing the magnitude of the social and economic problems caused by serious road injuries, the EU has set a target for a 50% reduction in road injuries from 2020 to 2030, as has the target for road deaths. Cyprus has set the same targets in its national Road Safety Strategic Plan 2021-2030.
However, progress in reducing serious road injuries in the EU has not been as expected. In the decade from 2013 to 2023, serious injuries decreased by only 13%, while deaths decreased by 16%. The 13% reduction is far from the 50% target for the decade 2020-2030, the report says. Cyprus, by contrast, recorded an impressive 43% reduction in serious injuries in the decade 2013-2023. It also recorded the second largest average annual reduction in the EU, after Romania, and the largest reduction in minor injuries in the same decade.
The distribution of serious injuries among different categories of road users varies from country to country.
On average, across the EU, 35% of serious injuries involve car occupants (24% drivers and 11% passengers) while the disproportionate 25% of cyclists are involved, while the corresponding figure for cyclist deaths is 10%. Cyprus records the same figures as the EU average for car occupants, but only 4% for cyclists.
There is also a large difference in the distribution of serious injuries by gender, ranging for males from 81% in Greece to 55% in Estonia. The EU average for males is 66%. In Cyprus, this figure is 73%.
According to Jenny Carson, project manager at the European Transport Safety Council, hundreds of people are seriously injured on the roads every day across Europe. Policymakers underestimate both the scale of the problem and the impact these injuries can have, she said.
National governments, he continued, must work harder to improve the system that relies extensively on police-reported data, which gives a misleading picture of the extent of road accident injuries to individuals, societies and economies.
To effectively address the problem and achieve the goal of reducing serious injuries, the report proposes the adoption of the “Safe System” approach. This approach takes into account the vulnerability of the human body and seeks to create a road safety system that reduces the risks of fatal and serious injuries. The key elements of the “Safe System” include adapting speed limits to the road environment and users, improving infrastructure to reduce collisions and their consequences, promoting technologies that prevent collisions and protect users, educating, enforcing laws and providing incentives for responsible behavior, and ensuring prompt and effective medical care.
The report, in its recommendations, calls on national governments to implement measures to reduce serious injuries, such as collecting data according to MAIS3+ and improving the recording of vulnerable users, reducing speed limits in residential areas to 30 km/h, developing safer infrastructure and separating motorized traffic from vulnerable users, and effectively enforcing traffic rules and strengthening policing.
To the EU institutions, it says they should strengthen cooperation with member states, supporting the collection of harmonised data and strengthening professional training, reducing speed limits and developing safer infrastructure, and creating a European Road Safety Authority to improve data analysis and policy-making.
The full report will be available at the link www.etsc.eu/pinflash48
Source: KYPE
