Almost 35,000 road accidents and 468 deaths in 2023, an increase compared to 2022 – Current affairs

“Compared to the year 2022, on the continent there were increases in all indicators, except for the severity index. There were 2,186 more accidents (+6.7%), five more fatalities (+1.1%), 194 more serious injuries (+8.6%) and 2,602 more minor injuries (+6.8%)” , writes the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) in the 2023 report, highlighting the increase in road circulation, which corresponds to an increase in the risk of accidents.

In turn, in relation to 2019, the reference year for monitoring the targets for reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries by 2030 set by the European Commission and Portugal, there was a decrease in accidents, fatalities and injuries minor injuries, with 730 fewer accidents (-2.0%), seven fewer fatalities (-1.5%) and 2,144 fewer minor injuries (-5.0%), but, on the other hand, there were 136 more serious injuries ( +5.9%).

The ANSR also indicates that, compared to the average of the last decade (2010-2019), there was an increasing trend in serious injuries (+9.1%), accidents (+6.8%) and minor injuries ( +3.2%).

However, the report states, there was a decrease in fatalities (-13.7%) and in the severity index (-19.4%).

According to the document, collisions represented the most frequent type of accident in 2023, corresponding to 52.7% of disasters, 40.9% of fatalities and 45.9% of serious injuries, while crashes, which represented 33.9% % of total accidents, were responsible for the highest proportion of deaths, 47.3%.

Last year, the number of fatalities outside localities (244) was slightly higher than that found within localities (223), but, compared to 2022, it was within localities that deaths increased (+3.2%) (+3.2%).

Regarding the type of road, ANSR reports that almost 63% of accidents occurred on streets, representing 29.6% of fatalities and 45.9% of serious injuries, and 20% were on national roads.

The report also states that 72.4% of the total deaths last year were drivers, while 15.4% were passengers and 12.2% were pedestrians. In terms of year-on-year variations, in fatalities, there were decreases in passengers compared to 2022 (15.3%) and in pedestrians (18.6%).

On the other hand, in the group of drivers, there was an increase in fatalities of 10.1% compared to 2022 and in serious injuries.

ANSR also indicates that half of the fatalities recorded last year occurred on the road network under the responsibility of Infraestruturas de Portugal (45.2%) and Brisa (5.4%).

The report also indicates that, last year, there was an increase in the number of accidents in 16 of the 18 districts, with greater expression in Portalegre (+16.5%), Leiria (+10.8%), Braga and Setúbal ( +9.9% in each), while fatalities occurred in greater numbers in nine districts, with the largest increases in Castelo Branco and Porto, and serious injuries increased in 11 districts, especially in Braga and Leiria.