Over 5,000 people have died in traffic accidents since 2010

by time news

Since 2010, more than 5,000 people have died in traffic accidents in Austria. In a European comparison, Austria is clearly behind the top field, the VCÖ drew attention on the occasion of today’s World Memorial Day for road traffic victims. Compared to Switzerland, almost twice as many people have been killed in road traffic in Austria since 2010. According to the Swiss model, the VCÖ calls for a speed limit of 80 instead of 100 on open-air roads.

In addition, Tempo 30 should become the rule in the local area and higher speeds the exception, demanded the VCÖ. In the previous year, 344 people died in traffic accidents in Austria, that is 39 per million inhabitants. In a European comparison, Austria is far from the top field with the fewest road deaths. The front runner is Norway, where the death toll at 17 per million people was around half lower than in Austria, as a current VCÖ analysis shows. After Norway, Sweden comes in second in the EU, ahead of Malta, Iceland, Switzerland and Denmark.

Of these countries, Switzerland is most similar to Austria in terms of topography and population. In Switzerland, 2,930 people have died in road traffic since 2010 (including the first half of 2021), while in Austria 5,136 people, the VCÖ informed. Speed ​​limits are a key factor in increasing road safety. All countries that are at the forefront when it comes to road safety have in common that they have lower speed limits on open-air roads than Austria, emphasized the traffic club. In Switzerland, the top speed is 80 kilometers per hour on open-air roads. “The risk of fatal accidents is particularly high on open-air roads. A speed limit of 80 instead of 100 would save many lives in Austria and reduce the number of seriously injured people,” said Gratzer.

The VCÖ also sees a need for improvement in the local area in Austria. The VCÖ demands that the health and life of the weakest in traffic – pedestrians, especially children and the elderly – have absolute priority. Specifically, that means more traffic calming and a speed limit of 30 instead of 50 as the normal speed. Currently, municipalities and cities that want to have a lower speed limit on a street have to prove why this is important for traffic safety reasons. The VCÖ calls for a reversal of the burden of proof in the sense of protecting health and life: Tempo 30 should be the rule and a higher speed should only be allowed where it is permissible from the point of view of road safety.

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