Newly available data from Estonia, Finland and Sweden paints a picture of stasis for road safety.
In 2021, there were 225 road deaths in Finland, an increase of two from the previous year. Of concern is that road deaths for riders of powered two wheelers rose by 40% in 2021 compared to 2020 and reached 28. However, injuries from road crashes dropped by 525 for 2021 compared with 2020. There were 3,243 crashes in which those involved suffered injuries in Finland in 2021.
Preliminary data from Sweden’s Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen) reveals that there were 220 deaths on the country’s roads in 2022, an increase of 10 from 2021. However, looking at the average number of road deaths over a five-year period, the tally for 2022 represents a 10% drop. Of the incidents involving cars, trucks and buses, 46 of the deaths involved head-on crashes while 36 were for single vehicle crashes. For powered two wheeler riders, 15 of the deaths were single vehicle crashes. In total there were 15,437 injuries arising from road crashes in Sweden in 2022, with 1,929 people suffering serious injuries. Sweden remains one of the safest countries in the world for road transport with amongst the toughest penalties for DUI.
Of concern for Estonia is that road traffic crashes reached record numbers in 2022, with over 38,000. There were 51 road deaths and 1,651 crashes that involved injuries. The data has been compiled by the Estonian Motor Insurance Bureau (LKF).
