Number of traffic fatalities this year lower than ever before
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The Austrian Traffic Club (VCÖ) reports that there have never been so few road deaths in the state of Salzburg since the traffic accident statistics were established. 19 people have died on Salzburg’s streets since the beginning of the year, five fewer than in 2021.
While the number of fatal road accidents has risen across Austria, it has fallen in Salzburg for the third year in a row. There were 19 from today until December 22nd. Last year 24 traffic fatalities were recorded, in 2017 there were 44 and in 2004 even 81 traffic fatalities in Salzburg, says VCÖ spokesman Christian Gratzer.
The only district in which no one has died on the road so far this year is the Lungau.
Numerous security measures as a reason
The mobility organization cites numerous safety measures in traffic at state and municipal level as the reason for the decline. The police also control heavily in Salzburg. However, Gratzer calls for further work towards zero deaths per year as quickly as possible. The traffic club is thinking here of more safety for pedestrians and cyclists and lower speed limits.
In an Austrian comparison, Salzburg is in third place in absolute figures – on a par with Burgenland. Only in Vienna and Vorarlberg did fewer people die on the roads this year. Most traffic deaths are in Lower Austria with 94 deaths and in Upper Austria with 79 this year. Styria has recorded the strongest increase in road fatalities: from 50 in 2021 to 67 so far this year.