Single-vehicle deaths in Greece are EU’s highest

Greece has the highest rate of deaths in the European Union due to single-vehicle collisions (SVCs – road accidents in which only one vehicle is involved).

According to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) – a Brussels-based nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the numbers of road deaths and injuries in Europe – SVCs were responsible for one-third of road fatalities in the EU in the 2013-15 period.

In Greece, however, they were the cause of 42 percent of road deaths, ahead of Luxembourg and Cyprus with 41 percent, Belgium with 38 percent, Norway with 37 percent and France with 36 percent.

More specifically, mortality rates in Greece from SVCs are on average the EU’s highest, with 34 deaths per million inhabitants each year.

Moreover, 35 percent of SVC fatalities involved motorcycle riders, who are more exposed to danger compared with car and truck drivers.

SVC mortality rates are higher in the 18-24 age group, with an average of 72 deaths in Greece for every million people in this bracket.

This is way above the average of 23 EU countries, with 38 young drivers and riders per million killed in SVCs.

Meanwhile, according to the Greek Police, 37 people died in road accidents during the Easter period (April 7-23).