Against a backdrop of an improvement in injury-related traffic accidents over the past ten years, British holiday website Canvas has described Cyprus as the second safest EU country to drive in.
Based on the European Commission’s Annual Accident Report 2018, Canvas said that Cyprus has 7.5 accidents per 10,000 residents, lagging behind only Denmark which has five accidents per 10,000 residents annually.
The European Commission’s annual report used data from 2016, only counting accidents where people are injured or killed, not those which result only in damage.
“Denmark takes the top spot as the safest place to drive, reporting just five accidents per 10,000 residents annually. Cyprus comes in close second, with 7.5 accidents per 10,000 residents, followed by Finland with 8.5. France and Poland make up the rest of the top five, with 8.6 and 8.9 accidents per 10,000 residents respectively,” Canvas said.
Austria is the most dangerous EU country to drive in, according to Canvas as it records 42.6 accidents per 10,000 residents annually. Germany was second with 37.2 accidents per 10,000 residents and Belgium was third with 35.1 accident per 10,000 residents.
According to the EC, the number of injury accidents in Cyprus has been consistently improving in the past decade.
Number of injury accidents in Cyprus 2007-2016:
2016: 650
2015: 660
2014: 758
2013: 774
2012: 919
2011: 1,058
2010: 1,198
2009: 1,197
2008: 1,392
2007: 1,468
Fatal accidents
The number of fatal accidents is improving as well the EC found, as in 2016 46 people died in road accidents in Cyprus, which is almost half than the 89 fatalities in road accidents of 2007 and eleven fewer than the 57 of 2015.
The death toll from road accidents decreased in Cyprus during 2016 by 19.3 %, according to the 11th Road Safety Performance Index Report of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). This was the second biggest reduction in the EU.
Gender
The EC found that of the 46 people who died in road accidents in Cyprus in 2016, 36 were men and ten were women.
Of the ten women who died, two were driving the car at the time of the accident, 3 were passengers and five were pedestrians.
Of the 36 men who died, 24 were drivers, three were passengers and nine were pedestrians at the time of the accident.
Fatalities by age group Cyprus 2016
0-14: 1
15-17: 6
18-24: 5
25-49: 12
50-64: 8
65: 14
Time
In Cyprus and the EU in general most accidents happen around 5pm.
Find the full EC report here.
Read more:
https://in-cyprus.com/48-dead-in-road-accidents-in-2018/
