öV with fewer accidents and victims
There were significantly fewer accidents and serious injuries on public transport in Switzerland in 2015 than in previous years. The number of fatalities was also low compared with previous years.
Last year, there were 183 accidents on public transport. This is the lowest level of the last five years, as the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) writes. In a European comparison, Switzerland is thus once again among the leaders, and the long-term trend is confirmed, according to which safety in public transport has risen to a very high level. This is clear from the Safety Report 2015 which the FOT published on April 19.
32 fatal accidents
According to the safety report, the number of seriously injured fell to 124, and the number of fatal accidents remained stable at a low level of 32 in a five-year comparison. In most cases, the victims were people trespassing on tracks or inattentive passers-by and motorists. Two of the victims were passengers. Both were killed in streetcar traffic, one while getting off, the other during a braking maneuver. There were no fatal accidents among travelers on rail, cable car, bus or boat services. Overall, the 2015 figures confirm the long-term trend that public transport is very safe compared to other modes of transport. In a European comparison, Switzerland was once again among the leaders in terms of safety.
In the year under review, the FOT contributed to the high level of safety in public transport with various measures. As the published report shows, the office again inspected more freight trains than in the previous year. For the first time, it carried out a joint inspection with the French safety supervisory authority. The FOT also closely monitored the renovation of level crossings and the safety of hazardous goods transports. In addition, the FOT inspected several hundred construction projects to ensure that safety-relevant requirements were being met.
