Czech Republic Has Europe's Deadliest Roads

The IRTAD’s Road Safety Annual Report 2015 has gathered statistics on road safety for 32 countries across the globe, but primarily in Europe and North America.

In terms of road fatalities per inhabitants, the Czech Republic ranks 23rd out of the 32 countries, with 6.2 deaths per 100,000 people. 

In terms of road deaths per kilometer driven, however, the story is much different. Here, the Czech Republic reports 15.7 deaths per billion vehicle kilometers – that’s more than twice as many as the next EU country, Slovenia, which reports 7.2 deaths per billion vehicle kilometers.

These numbers suggest that while Czech inhabitants aren’t driving as much as those in other EU countries, they are getting into fatal accidents at a considerably higher rate while on the road.

Globally, only South Korea reports higher numbers for deaths per billion vehicle kilometers, with 17.2. Sweden and the UK report the lowest numbers, with 3.4 and 3.5 deaths per billion vehicle kilometers, respectively. 

In terms of fatalities per inhabitants, the USA ranks 30th, with 10.3 deaths per 100,000 people, and Chile and Argentina rate at the bottom of the list with 12.0 and 12.3 deaths per hundred thousand inhabitants, respectively.

Sweden and the UK again report the least number of fatalities per inhabitant among the countries surveyed, with 2.7 and 2.8 deaths per 100,000 people.

The numbers reported are based upon official data recorded by police. A road fatality is defined as a death resulting from a road accident within 30 days.

The total number of road fatalities in the Czech Republic has declined in recent years. In 2010, there were 802 road deaths; that number improved to 742 in 2012 and 654 in 2013.

The downward trend has continued since road deaths rose in the 1980s and 90s. From 2001-2010, there was a 5.5% decline in the total number of fatalities.

Still, how safe do you feel on Czech roads?

It’s worth noting that the number of road deaths among the 32 IRTAD countries only represent a small fraction – 6% – of the 1.3 million road deaths reported globally each year. 90% of these deaths occur in low-to-middle income countries.