The European Commission has released its Road Safety Statistics for 2024, offering both encouraging progress and important reminders. Across the EU, 19,940 people lost their lives in road crashes last year—a small but meaningful 2% decrease compared to 2023. With 45 deaths per million inhabitants, Europe remains one of the safest regions in the world. Countries like Sweden and Denmark continue to lead in road safety, while Lithuania, Latvia, and Austria achieved notable improvements thanks to recent interventions.
However, not all Member States followed the same trend, and the variations show that road safety requires continuous commitment. Preliminary figures for the first half of 2025 also paint a mixed picture: several countries—including Greece, Czechia, Portugal, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia—are showing improvements, while others face new challenges. Road safety can never be taken for granted; it relies on ongoing investment, collaboration, and sustained focus.
As European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas emphasized, every number represents a person, a family, a community. Nearly 20,000 lives lost in a single year is still far too many. Achieving Vision Zero—no fatalities or serious injuries on our roads—remains a collective responsibility shared by policymakers, industry players, and road users.
Belgium’s results are particularly encouraging. After achieving a significant 25% decrease in road fatalities in 2023, the country continued this positive trajectory with a 27% reduction in 2024. This additional 2% improvement may seem small, but in public safety terms, it represents real progress—fewer accidents, fewer injuries, and lives saved. Targeted interventions, particularly average speed enforcement, play a key role in these results. By monitoring speed over longer stretches of road rather than at a single point, average speed enforcement encourages safer driving behaviour, reduces dangerous speed variations, and directly contributes to fewer accidents and fatalities.
At Macq, we are proud to support safer roads through the deployment of Average Speed Enforcement systems. These solutions provide cities and authorities with reliable data and enforcement capabilities that make a measurable difference in road safety. The Belgian results demonstrate that when smart enforcement is combined with effective policy, the impact is tangible: safer roads, protected communities, and lives saved.
The 2024 statistics show that progress is possible, but only when technology, policy, and community awareness work hand in hand. As mobility evolves, our commitment remains the same: providing smart solutions that reduce risks, save lives, and help build safer communities for everyone.
Discover the full European Commission report here > European Comission: Safety Statistics 2024