Road traffic: fewer fatalities and serious injuries
The road accident statistics for the first half of 2019 show a marked overall decline in fatalities and serious injuries, writes the Federal Road Transport Office. This represents a continuation of a long-standing trend. However, more people were killed in accidents involving e-bikers and pedestrians than in the same period last year.
A total of 27 fewer people were killed in road traffic accidents in the first half of 2019 than in the same period of the previous year (2019: 75 people, 2018: 102). This represents a new low. Fortunately, there were also fewer serious injuries - namely 1553 (2018: 1778 serious injuries).
There was a particularly large decrease in the number of people killed in accidents involving passenger cars. Their number fell from 42 to 22. Declining figures are particularly noticeable in fatalities in self- and skidding accidents (2019: 12, 2018: 28) and head-on collisions (2019: 2, 2018: 7). The number of serious injuries decreased from 367 to 312.
Among motorcyclists, 11 people were killed in accidents (2018: 21); among moped riders, the number remained constant at 2 each. The number of seriously injured motorcyclists fell from 470 to 408, and the number of moped riders from 30 to 25. One of the reasons for this may have been the mixed weather in the spring; more motorcyclists are on the road in good weather.
Mandatory light for fast e-bikes?
While the number of serious injuries among bicyclists decreased (2019: 3 killed, 340 serious injuries, 2018: 9 killed, 423 serious injuries), the number of e-bikers killed increased from 4 to 7 people. The number of seriously injured e-bikers decreased from 147 to 140 people. In order to improve safety, Astra is considering various measures, such as the introduction of a mandatory light system and mandatory speed limits for fast e-bikes.
17 pedestrians were involved in fatal accidents in the first half of this year, 2 more than in the same period last year. 7 of them were killed on pedestrian crossings. The number of pedestrians seriously injured fell from 243 to 231. 98 of these were involved in accidents on pedestrian crossings (2018: 116).
The results of the Half-year statistics are provisional. The definitive figures will be published in spring 2020.
Press release Astra
Tip: Good visibility brings safety
Overall, Switzerland performs well in road accident statistics in an international comparison. The Federal Roads Office emphasizes that everyone can make a contribution to ensuring that this continues to be the case: In autumn and winter, visibility and thus safety can be increased by simple means. It is recommended that cyclists and pedestrians wear bright light-reflecting clothing. Cyclists should ride with good lights and mount enough reflectors on their bikes. Drivers should adapt their driving style to the visibility and weather conditions and pay attention to good vehicle lighting.
