TRAFFIC SAFETY

One thing that seems inexorable is the rise in traffic. What is not necessarily inexorable is an increase in traffic accidents; at least not in Denmark.

Between 2000 and 2011 the number of people killed or injured on Danish roads fell by 56%. The fall in the number of deaths is particularly marked, falling from 406 in 2007 to 220 in 2011, the lowest figure ever. There was no one single reason for this, but a combination of better infrastructure (notably more roundabouts at busy junctions), better vehicles, more measures to control speed, and a reduction in driving under the influence of alcohol.

Traffic accidents impose a huge direct cost on society, in the form of smashed vehicles/insurance payments, medical costs, and lost earnings, in addition to the human costs. It is estimated that the reduction in accidents over the past 11 years has saved Denmark kr.59 billion, which is a tidy sum.

Walter Blotscher