BFU Safety Barometer 2021
Senior citizens and children are proportionately often seriously injured on the roads. Children are less likely to be involved in accidents, but in other European countries the accident rate among younger people is generally lower than in Switzerland.
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Last year, there were more fatalities and serious injuries compared to 2019. According to the safety barometer of the Advisory Office for Accident Prevention (BFU), the number of fatalities rose last year from 40 to 227, and those seriously injured by 154 to 3793. Senior citizens were particularly at risk.
Accidents had increased particularly among people aged 65 and over. Last year, there were 97 fatalities and 791 serious injuries in this age group. Most of the accidents occurred when seniors were traveling on foot, by bicycle or by e-bike.
Medium security for children
The Safety Barometer 2021 also indicates that children are particularly at risk on Swiss roads. For every 1 million children, 6.4 die in Switzerland every year.
Children in this country are particularly at risk when they are on foot. Statistically, this changes at the age of 12: From this age on, more children are injured on bicycles.
Switzerland must not let up
The BFU therefore wants to campaign for consistent adherence to a "30 km/h" speed limit in built-up areas, as this would prevent at least one third of serious accidents. The preventive effect of police checks with regard to speed, alcohol and drugs is still too little used. Road users are often not prepared for police checks. Therefore, more holistic accident prevention on the part of the AAIB would be desirable.
Source: AAIB
