Spike in traffic accidents reverses Lithuanian road safety trends

Statistics revealed that, in some cases, Lithuanian traffic safety is still improving. “According to data from the Lithuanian traffic police service, over 5 months during this year, the number of incidents has increased by 13.5%, the number of deaths has fallen by 18%, the number of injuries has fallen by 11.6%, and the number of collisions with motorcyclists has fallen by 66%,” said Marija Kazanovič, an administrative specialist at the traffic police service.

“4 more motorcyclists died, the number of collisions with standing vehicles grew by 57%, the number of collision with obstacles grew by 40%, and the number of collisions with animals grew by a third. Also, in incidents caused by the fault of pedestrians, deaths increased by 37.5%,” said Kazanovič.

Fortunately, the number of accidents caused by drunk drivers has fallen by 9%.

The frequency of traffic incidents has grown more quickly in certain regions, with the largest increases being in Tauragė, Kaunas and Vilnius.

“Tauragė stood out for the frequency of incidents there – there were 60% more accidents here in which people were injured or killed. Accidents grew by 26.4% in Kaunas and 17% in Vilnius,” said Kazanovič.

Other regions have still managed to improve their statistics: “The Utena region saw the most significant safety improvements over the past 5 months, with 60% less traffic incidents. There were also 27.3% less traffic incidents in the Marijampolė region,” said Kazanovič.