Number of road casualties record low in 2017
Ljubljana, 9 January - The number of road casualties reached the lowest figure on record in Slovenia in 2017, according to the Traffic Safety Agency. The number of crashes and injured also decreased last year, the agency said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Ljubljana
Driving in the rain.
Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA
File photo
Agency director Igor Velov said that 106 people died on Slovenia's roads last year, which was the lowest number in 60 years. The figure was lower by 24 compared to 2016.
Moreover, the number of people who sustained severe injuries was down by 19 to 831, while the number of those with light injuries in 2017 was 6,875, down by 731 over the year before.
However, the main reasons for car crashes remain unchanged: speeding, alcohol and driving in the opposite direction.
Motorcyclists had the highest risk levels, according to the agency, because they increasingly overestimate their abilities.
The number of casualties among all traffic participants in the spring of 2017 stood out from the average of the past five years (40 or 38% of all 2017 road casualties).
On the other hand, the summer months were safer than in the past years. What is more, last September was the month with the lowest number of casualties in the last 25 years.
Ivan Kapun, the head of the Traffic Police Department, said that the police dealt with some 17,000 accidents last year.
He broke down the statistics, saying that the casualties included 32 car drivers, 24 motorcyclists, 18 passengers, 11 cyclists and 10 pedestrians. The number of the latter two has also dropped, according to Kapun.
He added that 45 people died due to speeding and 30 due to alcohol.
Velov believes that traffic safety in Slovenia improved due to persistent work of all key players involved: the agency, NGOs, local councils and schools.
Hopefully, the positive trend will continue, as no casualties have been reported so far this year. During the same time last year, three persons died on Slovenian roads.