In 2024, a total of 488 people lost their lives and 5 043 required hospital treatment in 66 545 road accidents within urban areas. This marks a 6 % decrease in fatalities—equating to 30 fewer deaths—when compared to the previous year, accompanied by a 3 % increase in serious injuries, or 123 more cases.
Despite this encouraging trend, users considered vulnerable—including pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists, and personal mobility device users—still accounted for 79 % of all fatalities, though their numbers decreased by 31 compared with 2023. Specifically, fatalities among motorcyclists dropped by 16, pedestrian deaths fell by 8 %, and cyclist fatalities declined by 3.
Age remained a significant factor: 66 % of pedestrian victims were aged 65 or older, and 57 % of motorcyclist fatalities fell within the 25–54 age bracket.
Alarmingly, 28 % of those who died in urban road accidents had not used any mandatory safety equipment, such as helmets or seat belts—up from 26 % the year before. Among cyclists, 14 of the 18 fatalities did not wear a helmet; among users of personal mobility devices, 5 of 9 fatalities lacked protective gear. Among car occupants, 25 of 60 victims died without wearing a seat belt, and among motorcyclists, 15 of 123 fatalities occurred without a helmet.
These figures emphasise that while progress has been made in reducing urban traffic deaths, there remains an urgent need to reinforce safety behaviours across all modes of transport. Road safety experts point to the reduction in the maximum permitted speed on most urban streets to 30 km/h, introduced in recent years, as a key factor in lowering the severity of collisions and improving survival rates. The measure has given drivers more reaction time, reduced stopping distances, and significantly decreased the risk of fatal injuries for vulnerable road users, especially in residential areas and at pedestrian crossings.
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