Poland among EU nations with highest rate of road deaths: study

Last year, 3,026 people were killed on Poland’s roads, a death rate of 7.9 for every 100,000 citizens, according to the study by the National Road Safety Council.

The EU average is 5 deaths per 100,000, the study says, citing European Commission data.

Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria also report high rates of road deaths.

There were 33,600 road accidents in Poland last year, 697 more than a year earlier, the study says, adding that the number of those injured rose by 988 from 2015 to 40,700.

Over the last several years, however, road safety has improved in Poland, according to Deputy Infrastructure and Construction Minister Justyna Skrzydło.

Addressing MPs in parliament on Thursday, she said the government was working to make Poland's roads safer for travellers and reduce the number of the most serious accidents despite a growing number of vehicles.

“We are aware that improving road safety is a long-term process," Skrzydło told the MPs as they debated the more than 150-page study.

The risk of death in road accidents in Poland has dropped by 46 percent since 2007, according to the National Road Safety Council. (gs/pk)

Source: PAP