European Commission publishes road safety statistics for 2014

According to the figures released, the number of road fatalities has decreased by approximately 1% compared to 2013. This follows on the 8% decrease in 2012 and 2013. The figures reveal a total of 25 700 road deaths in 2014 across all 28 Member States of the EU. Whilst this is 5700 fewer than in 2010, it falls short of the intended target decrease.

Violeta Bulc, EU Commissioner for Transport said: "It's sad and hard to accept that almost 70 Europeans die on our roads every day, with many more being seriously injured. The figures published today should be a wake-up call. Behind the figures and statistics there are grieving spouses, parents, children, siblings, colleagues and friends. They also remind us that road safety requires constant attention and further efforts."

In order to reach the EU strategic target of halving the number of road deaths from 2010 to 2020, additional efforts are now needed.

What will the Commission do next:

• Finalise an interim report on EU road safety policy taking stock and setting the agenda for next five years. The report is expected to be published in May 2015.
• Continued work on the new analysis of serious road traffic injuries. The Commission intends to set shortly a new target for the reduction of serious road injuries and define a strategy to meet this target.
• A review of rules on training and qualifications of professional drivers. A Commission proposal is expected to be adopted by end of 2016.
• A review of the EU framework on infrastructure safety management drivers. A Commission proposal is expected to be adopted by end of 2016.

More information:

The press release including the 2014 figures is available here.