ROADPOL Safety Days results:

16 Countries Report ZERO Road Fatalities

From left: Heinz-Albert Stumpen, Sanja Veic, Jozsef Oberling and Tasos Ashikkis speaking at the press conference in Budapest. PHOTO: DEYAN DYANKOVSEP 29 (UPDATED OCT 1) - 16 European countries registered ZERO road fatalities at the control day of the 2021 ROADPOL Safety Days campaign.
The news came after final completion of data received from 28 ROADPOL member countries of which 23 took active part in the European Roads Policing Network's flagship annual campaign. It was carried out in the week of 16-22 September with the goal of achieving the ZERO for at least one single day.

Achievement

On the control day of this years campaign, September 21st, all participants reported either ZERO fatalities or a number considerably lower than the average. The 16 ZERO-death champions are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia and Switzerland with their number equal to the one of last years campaign. Overall 35 fatalities were reported on the day across the 25 countries which announced data. The number represents 43% of the average 62 road deaths, which occur everyday on the roads of the European Union and is a clear drop even when taking into account the difference in the number of countries.

More than 600 events were organized within the week of the campaign. PHOTO: POLIZIA DI STATOEvents
606 events were organized during the week with the aim of attracting public attention to the subject of road safety and safe mobility. Also there were 1290 pledges for responsible road behavior signed online. Additionally  no less than 900 pledges were signed physically on the spot of numerous campaign events.

Challenge

Still no less than 9 pedestrians, 8 car/truck drivers, 8 motorcyclists, 5 passengers and one cyclist lost their lives on the control day of the campaign. “Overall data shows that due to good road infrastructure and professional roads policing, Europe has achieved a lot. This does not mean we should be complacent as numbers show there is still a long way ahead. We must continue to strive for fewer and fewer casualties”, said ROADPOL Safety Days project manager Tasos Ashikkis of Cyprus Police at an international press conference in Budapest. “We have to intensify our efforts because 62 persons lose their life daily on the roads and streets of the EU with the relevant number for the whole European region at 220“, Ashikkis added.

Dedication
1290 pledges were signed online with additional number signed on paper. PHOTO: CYPRUS POLICE“As hosts we are especially proud of the fact that Hungary registered no road fatalities on the control day. But what is even more fascinating is that it was actually also the 100th day of the year 2021 with ZERO road deaths”, announced chief of Hungarian Traffic Police Jozsef Oberling. “Let the public know that campaigns like ROADPOL Safety Days do not mean we fight road fatalities only now. It is our job and we are dedicated to it every single day”, Oberling stated.

Mission
“Our mission is to raise awareness of every single person - that small changes in behaviour make a big difference. Just with adaptation of attitude and respect of traffic rules people can avoid becoming part of road crash statistics”, said ROADPOL’s Vice President Sanja Veic from Croatia Police. She emphasized that ROADPOL’s Pan-European enforcement operations aimed at speeding, alcohol/drugs, distraction, etc. also have a preventive character. “We often announce control locations and call citizens to send us locations where they wish to see police controls. Because we want Vision Zero to become real zero!”, Veic appealed.

Toll
“The current death toll on the roads and streets of Europe is a very high price for the sake of human mobility. The know-how to achieve the aim of ZERO fatalities is no rocket science. Just as in air traffic, everybody should simply stick to the rules”, stated ROADPOL’s General Secretary Heinz-Albert Stumpen. “But in order to achieve this we need enforcement, education and public awareness campaigns. And these are exactly the three pillars of ROADPOL which our network applies on a cross-border level”, Stumpen concluded.