236 people died on Swiss roads last year
Published: Thursday, Mar 14th 2024, 12:40
Updated At: Thursday, Mar 14th 2024, 13:10
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236 people died on Swiss roads last year. That was five fewer than in the previous year. In contrast, the number of serious injuries increased. It rose to its highest level for ten years.
4096 people were seriously injured in road accidents last year, as reported by the Federal Roads Office (Astra) in its 2023 road accident statistics on Thursday. In the previous year, the figure was 4002. This corresponds to an increase of 2.3 percent.
The number of serious accidents involving motorists has decreased. After the sharp rise in 2022, the figures fell by 13.8% for fatalities and 6.4% for serious injuries, according to Astra.
Of the 75 drivers killed, 38 died due to excessive speed (+5.6%), 27 due to inattention or distraction (-27.0%) and 26 (-7.1%) under the influence of alcohol.
50 people died in motorcycle accidents, four more than in the previous year. 1160 motorcyclists (+9.1%) were seriously injured.
The number of fatal cycling accidents also increased, by seven to 26, while the number of seriously injured cyclists fell by 4.7 percent to 733.
In contrast, the number of e-bike riders killed fell from 23 to 16. The number of people seriously injured in this category rose by 6.3% to 595.
Pedestrian crossings as a death trap
The number of pedestrian fatalities has also risen, from 24 in the previous year to 42 last year. According to Astra, the increase in the number of fatal accidents at pedestrian crossings is striking, rising almost by leaps and bounds from nine to 24.
The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (bfu) expressed concern about the negative trend, particularly with regard to serious injuries. This figure is at its highest level for ten years, while the number of fatalities is stagnating at a high level. This serious signal requires all road safety stakeholders to work together to reverse the trend.
The increase in fatal accidents at pedestrian crossings is particularly striking. The bfu points out that pedestrian crossings are not a safety measure in themselves, but merely regulate the right of way of pedestrians over vehicles. If incorrectly designed or in unsuitable locations, pedestrian crossings can even endanger safety. It is therefore important to check pedestrian crossings for safety aspects such as visibility, lighting, central islands and pedestrian frequencies.
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