Eight lost their lives in traffic in April

In the first four months of the year, 29 lives have been lost in traffic. This is seven more than last year, but at the same level as the year before the pandemic.

Of the eight who died in traffic in April, three died in Buskerud, and one person in each of the counties of Akershus, Agder, Møre and Romsdal, Vestland and Innlandet, preliminary figures from the National Road Administration show.

Can have fatal consequences

The figures worry the National Roads Administration at the start of the summer months.

– Summer is traditionally the time when we see the most serious accidents, says Guro Ranes, head of traffic safety.

– People tend to step a little harder on the gas pedal in the summer, and there are also many overtakings. It can have fatal consequences. If no one drives over the speed limit and keeps their place in the queue, we can save lives. You save so little by driving past, she says.

Fewer injured than before

The development is, however, more encouraging for the severely injured, where fewer people are now affected than in previous years.

– Although the number of deaths has not decreased, there is a positive slight development for the number of people seriously injured in traffic, says Ranes.

She says we do not have the progress needed towards the interim target for 2030, which is a maximum of 350 dead and seriously injured in traffic, of which a maximum of 50 died.

– We know a lot about what is effective, and both the Swedish Road Administration and the many other actors in road safety are working hard on what is needed to reduce the number of serious accidents, says Ranes – who emphasizes that road users must also do their part.

– We depend on help from road users so that fewer people lose their lives and are seriously injured in traffic, she says.

Worried

So far, no one has died on the roads in Nordland and Finnmark this year, which Ranes believes is encouraging.

However, she is concerned that so far this year there have been five fatal accidents in Østfold, that four have died in Møre and Romsdal and that three people have lost their lives on the roads in Buskerud.

Since the new year, two people have died in traffic in each of the counties of Telemark, Agder, Innlandet, Vestland, Troms, Trøndelag and Oslo, while one in Akershus and one in Vestfold have lost their lives during the first four months of the year.