Road accidents, encouraging figures

The annual Istat statistics on road safety in Italy have been released. In 2019, there were 172,183 road accidents with injuries in Italy, a slight decrease compared to 2018 (-0.2%), with 3,173 victims. This figure has decreased for the second consecutive year and is at its lowest level in the last ten years. There was a significant drop on motorways and urban roads (6.1% and 5%), while on extra-urban roads, the decrease was just over 4%. The number of victims among cyclists and motorcyclists increased, a figure linked to the increasingly widespread use of two-wheelers. The summer months continue to be the most critical, with peaks in accidents in June and July (almost 17,000 in total) and August proving to be the worst month for danger. Safety is very often in our own hands: distracted driving, failure to yield, and excessive speed remain among the most frequent causes of accidents, accounting for 38.2% of cases overall. 8.7% and 3.4% of accidents detected by law enforcement are related to alcohol and drugs, respectively. Per million inhabitants, in 2019 there were 48.1 road accident fatalities in the EU and 52.6 in our country, which remains stable at 16th place in the European ranking. This is a ranking we can improve, with the commitment of our School and everyone.