The number of fatalities on Belgian roads fell by 21% during the first six months of the year compared to the same period last year, according to the latest road safety barometer from the Vias institute.
In concrete terms, 227 people lost their lives compared to 287 last year. “Excluding covid years, this is the lowest number ever reached” during the first half of the year, Vias said in a press release.
"Compared to ten years ago, this is a reduction of almost 35%", the road safety institute noted, which also warned that "nine people die on average each week on the roads of our country."
The institute adds that the number of accidents is decreasing (-3%) as is that of injuries (-4%) and that involving an electric scooter (-18%). On the other hand, it is clear that the number of people killed during weeknights is increasing sharply:
“This number has doubled in one year (35 killed in the 1st half of 2023 compared to 18 during the same period of 2022). More than a third of these deaths are recorded on the night of Thursday to Friday, which is increasingly popular with some people for partying.”
At regional level, Vias reports that the number of road deaths has fallen the most in Wallonia. “It went from 133 to 100 (-25%), a sharper decrease than in Flanders (from 142 to 122, or -14%). In Brussels, five people were killed during the first six months of the year compared to 12 last year”, he specified
"As for the number of accidents, the downward trend is more marked in Brussels (-9%) than in Wallonia (-3%) and Flanders (-3%)", the spokesperson concluded.
