The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released new road death data, showcasing that despite the addition of more than one billion motor-vehicles to the world’s roads, road traffic deaths declined by 21% between 2011 and 2025. With nearly 60% of the world’s population now living in urban areas, growing demand for mobility threatens to overwhelm transport systems that were largely designed around private motor vehicles. This data show that across the world, 10 countries reduced road deaths by 50% in the decade to 2021 and more than half of all countries reported falling fatalities in that period. Yet progress is uneven, with 36% drop in deaths in the WHO European Region, a 15% drop in the Western Pacific Region, a 2% drop in the WHO South-East Asian Region, no change in rates in the Americas and a 17% rise in deaths in the WHO African Region. 

Micro-Mobility for Europe (MMfE) recently published its latest incident data, covering more than 450 million trips across the EU27, Israel, Norway, Switzerland and the UK. The data confirms that injury risk for shared e-scooters and e-bikes continued to decline for the fifth consecutive year, with shared e-bike injuries per million trips falling by 18.4% compared to 2024, and a 24% reduction in shared e-scooter injury risk per million trips since 2021. MMfE is currently working together with NTUA on a more detailed analysis of micro-mobility safety trends, aimed at further strengthening the evidence base for policymaking and infrastructure improvements. Despite the positive trajectory, reductions in serious injuries and fatalities are not yet happening fast enough to meet European Commission targets under its Vision Zero objective. 

Road fatalities in Greece in 2025 presented a significant decrease (22.1%) compared to 2024 figures, according to the provisional ELSTAT and Traffic Police data. This is the result of the intensification of enforcement of helmet wearing and drink-and-drive by the Police, together with the new Road Traffic Code in Greece (voted in June and in force since September) which led to an astonishing improvement of driver behaviour and consequently to this very significant reduction or road crash fatalities.

These highly successful initiatives of the Greek Authorities led to a record saving of 147 lives: 517 in 2025 in comparison to 664 in 2024. With these results (49,7 fatalities per million population), Greece is leaving the zone of lowest performance EU countries (63,8 fatalities per million population in 2024), and is approaching the EU average road safety performance (43 fatalities per million population).

We are proud having contributed actively through our systematic advocacy interventions to the Authorities and the media, for prioritizing motorcycle safety and helmet wearing as the catalysers for significant reduction of road casualties in Greece.    

The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV and KFV recently published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Annual Statistical Report on Road Safety in the EU, which provides an overview of crash data for 2014 to 2024 from 27 EU Member States and the four EFTA countries. According to this Report, 53% of road traffic fatalities occurred on rural roads, versus 38% in urban areas and 8% on motorways. It was also revealed that car occupants (drivers and passengers) represented 44% of all fatalities, while pedestrians accounted for 18%, users of powered two-wheelers (motorbikes and mopeds) 18%, and cyclists 9%.

The European Commission recently issues a Press Release on preliminary figures on road fatalities for 2025, reporting around 19,400 deaths. This represents a 3% decrease from 2024, meaning that 580 fewer people died on European roads. Given the increase in vehicles on EU roads and kilometers driven, this is a significant achievement. Furthermore, road safety progress varies widely by country. Between 2024 and 2025, there were remarkable decreases in Estonia (-38%) and Greece (-22%). However, the preliminary data also highlights the need for sustained efforts at all levels as most Member States are not yet on track to meet the EU’s goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.   

The International Road Traffic and Accident Database (IRTAD) of the International Transport Forum (ITF/OECD) published the Road Safety Annual Report 2025, on the development of road safety in 2024 with the active contribution of NTUA. It is based on data from 40 IRTAD member countries, with some preliminary data also for the year 2025. The main findings and data available from 35 countries revealed that in 2024, a 2.8% decline in road fatalities was observed compared to 2023, while in the first half of 2025 road fatalities decreased by 5% .  

According to data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), road fatalities in Greece have followed a long-term downward trend, decreasing significantly from 2,182 deaths in 1998 to 517 in 2025. In 2025, road traffic fatalities reached their lowest level since 1963, marking a 22.1% decrease compared to 2024, which is the largest annual reduction recorded since official data collection began.

The Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG Move) of the European Commission released the Statistical Pocketbook 2025 “EU Transport in figures”. In this Statistical Pocketbook, key road safety Tables are contained, together with several other Tables on transport statistics, providing a complete picture of current trends in transport in Europe. Data on road fatalities for the EU Member States and associate countries allow for time series comparisons and country rankings.  

According to the latest statistics released by the European Commission, in 2024 19,940 people lost their lives in road crashes across the EU, representing a 2% decrease compared to 2023. The overall ranking of countries’ fatality rates has not changed significantly, with the safest roads in Sweden and Denmark while Romania and Bulgaria reported the highest fatality rates in 2024. Provisional data for the first six months of 2025 shows mixed trends across Member States. While some countries like Greece, Czechia, Estonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia are giving positive signals with declining fatalities, others face renewed challenges. These early indicators underscore that road safety requires constant vigilance and sustained effort. 

The WHO Mortality Database was recently updated, incorporating the latest mortality and population data reported by Member States. It is a comprehensive compilation of mortality data reported annually through civil registration and vital statistics systems. The database is the leading global source for comparative epidemiological studies of mortality by cause and provides access to cause-of-death data from 1950 to the present. It is accompanied by a visualization portal that enhances accessibility, impact and relevance by allowing users to explore and export data in multiple formats. The mortality data are organized according to revisions of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), with detailed data available from ICD-7, ICD-8, ICD-9, and ICD-10. For the purposes of road safety research, the database provides information on the number of deaths due to road traffic crashes, the road fatality rate per 100,000 population, and the percentage of road traffic crash deaths out of total deaths, enabling robust monitoring and analysis of this major public health issue.  

According to the Road Safety KPIs on alcohol from the Baseline project, driving under the influence of alcohol is more common during night-time and especially at weekends. Specifically in 2022, the number of drivers under the influence of alcohol was about three times higher on weekend nights than on weeknights. In addition, compared with motorways, urban and rural roads had higher levels of alcohol-impaired driving.

According to the Road Safety KPIs on distraction from the Baseline and Trendline projects, mobile device use rates are higher among passenger car drivers compared to drivers of other vehicle types. The percentage of passenger car drivers using a mobile device while driving decreased on urban roads and slightly on motorways compared to 2022, in contrast with rural roads. In addition, in 2025, more drivers of light trucks were using a mobile device while driving on all road types compared to 2022. 

According to the Road Safety KPIs on helmet use from the Baseline and Trendline projects, in 2025 the helmet use rate among motorcycle riders increased on all road types, with the total rate rising from 79.8% to 85.7%.  Specifically on urban roads, the KPI on helmet use increased by 6.7% compared to 2022. In contrast, helmet use among motorcycle passengers remained low. Additionally, the helmet use rates were lower during weekends compared to weekdays on all road types. 

According to the Road Safety KPIs on seatbelt use from the Baseline and Trendline projects, seatbelt use among passenger car drivers is higher on motorways than on urban and rural roads. In 2025, seatbelt use was highest among car drivers, followed by front-seat passengers and rear-seat passengers, with all use rates appearing to have remained relatively stable compared to 2022. Seatbelt use among passenger car drivers increased slightly on motorways and rural roads, while it remained stable on urban roads. 

According to the Road Safety KPIs on speed from the Baseline and Trendline projects, passenger cars exceed speed limits more frequently on urban roads than on motorways and rural roads, while speeding on urban roads decreased considerably between 2022 and 2025. Specifically, compliance with the speed limit on urban roads for passenger cars increased significantly from 55.8% in 2022 to 72.9% in 2025. In contrast, compliance on rural roads decreased from 78.3% to 71.0%, while on motorways it remained almost stable. 

According to the European Commission preliminary statistics, fewer people died on European roads in 2024, a slight 3% drop compared to 2023,  which is the equivalent to 600 fewer lives lost. In 2024, around 19,800 people were killed in road crashes in the EU. Over the past five years, Greece, Spain, France, and Italy have seen only modest declines in road deaths; in contrast, Bulgaria, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia are making strong progress toward the 50% reduction target. Even if road fatalities decreased more significantly in 2024 than they did in 2023, the overall pace of improvement remains too slow, and most Member States are not on track to meet the EU’s goal of halving road deaths by 2030. 

Road fatalities in Greece in 2024 presented a slight increase (3%) compared to 2023 figures, according to the provisional ELSTAT data, bringing Greece at the 25th position out of 27 EU countries (better only than Bulgaria and Romania). These results demonstrate that Greece is well out of track to achieve the targets set neither for 2025 (-25%) nor for 2030 (-50%) and highlight that there is an urgent need for extra effort to further improve road safety in the Greek roads, with systematic actions from the Authorities and serious engagement from the society.  

The Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG Move) of the European Commission released the Statistical Pocketbook 2024 “EU Transport in figures”. In this Statistical Pocketbook, key road safety Tables are contained, together with several other Tables on transport statistics, providing a complete picture of current trends in transport in Europe. Data on road fatalities for the EU Member States and associate countries allow for time series comparisons and country rankings.  

The Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety recently launched their mobility snapshot tool, an interactive map which shows the realities of how unsafe the streets are as well as the solutions that can make the communities more livable and sustainable, enabling access to education and work. Data are collected at specific intersections in local communities from 118 Mobility Snapshots in 44 countries at intersections across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and North and South America. Key findings show that more than 156,000 pedestrians use these 118 intersections during peak hour, yet 102 of them lacked traffic calming measures or a speed limit of 30 km/h or lower.  

Comune di Bologna has recently published a Report on the first year of implementing the 30 km/h speed limit in the city, which has the main objective of the improvement of road safety and the increase of sustainable mobility. This Report showed that for the first time since 1991, no pedestrians were killed, and road deaths were reduced by 50%. Also, crashes were reduced by 13% and urban traffic pollution by 30%. Finally, the report indicated that there has been a significant increase in bicycle flows by 10%, as well as the use of car and bike sharing services.    

Fruitful discussions with NTUA Professor George Yannis, Deputy Mayor for Ecological Transition, Ana Lisa Boni and Deputy Mayor for Sports, Luca Bellinato took recently place, demonstrating the need to intensify efforts for lower speeds and safer roads everywhere and for all.

The European Commission with the active contribution of NTUA, SWOV, VIAS Institute and KFV has published at the European Road Safety Observatory, the Personal Mobility Devices Thematic Report which mainly refers to the safety of electric scooters. This Thematic Report highlights that a high proportion of crashes with a PMD are caused by falls, that can lead to common head injuries and by increasing helmet use would prevent these injuries. Moreover, a series of specific countermeasures are suggested, such as an e-scooters ban from pavements, a lower 30 km/h limit in urban areas and training motor vehicle users to be prepared to interact with PMDs is equally important for micro-mobility safety.  

A paper titled Explainable macroscopic and microscopic influences of COVID-19 on naturalistic driver aggressiveness derived from telematics through SHAP values of SVM and XGBoost algorithms authored by Apostolos Ziakopoulos, Marios Sekadakis, Christos Katrakazas, Marianthi Kallidoni, Eva Michelaraki and George Yannis  has been published in Journal of Safety Research. This study aims to quantify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on driver behavior as expressed by harsh accelerations (HA) measured from over 35,5000 naturalistic driving trips by smartphone telematics data using advanced machine learning algorithms, including SVM and XGBoost, combined with SHAP values. Key findings indicate that high speeding, total trip distance, and trip duration are associated with increased HA counts. Drivers perform more HAs on speeds between 30–50 km/h, while after 50 km/h, the contributions of speed lead to fewer HAs. 

The International Transport Forum (ITF) has recently published a new Report titled “Measuring New Mobility: Case Studies and Best Practices“. The Report features case studies from various countries, focusing on new mobility services such as ride-sharing, micro-mobility, and autonomous vehicles. Key findings emphasize the importance of robust data collection and analysis methods to assess the safety, efficiency, and environmental impacts of these services. The report provides recommendations for policymakers to design effective frameworks for integrating new mobility into existing transport systems.  

Τhe European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has published the 47th PIN Flash Report titled “Improving Road Safety of E-scooters“. This Report calls for the development of mandatory technical requirements for all e-scooters sold in the European Union, highlighting the need for stronger road safety measures across Europe. Key recommendations include stricter e-scooter safety standards, such as a 20 km/h speed limit, to address rising urban safety concerns. Enhanced regulations aim to ensure safer roads for all users.  

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has published a Position Paper titled “EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034 Funds for Road Safety“. In this paper, ETSC presents recommendations for funding for road safety initiatives within the next long-term EU budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). These recommendations should support work towards meeting EU’s Vision Zero target of reducing road deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030, paving the way for safer roads across Europe.  

The European Union Road Federation (ERF) has released the Road Statistics Yearbook 2024”. As for many years, this publication provides the road community with important updated information on road transport sector and road infrastructure in Europe and beyond as an essential key element of the global mobility with one section focusing on road safety. 

The European Commission published the latest figures on Road safety in the EU, showing that 20,400 people were killed in road crashes in 2023, a 1% decrease in relation to 2022. While the underlying long-term trend is downward (-10% compared to 2019), the current pace of decline falls short of the required 4.5% annual reduction needed to achieve the EU’s goal of halving road deaths by 2030.  Preliminary figures for the first six months of 2024 indicate the number of deaths on EU roads has remained the same, compared with the same period in 2023. 

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, 21% of car drivers report to have driven while having trouble keeping eyes open in the past 30 days. The highest self-declared rates of fatigue while driving correspond to Luxembourg (31%), while the lowest are recorded in the United Kingdom (13%).  

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, mobile phone use is more frequent self-declared among car drivers (28%) compared to PTW riders (21%) and cyclists (21%). Furthermore, 69% of pedestrians declare to text or check social media, while walking in the streets, while the highest rates of mobile phone use for car drivers are found in Luxembourg (41%).  

According to the E-Survey of Road Users’ Safety Attitudes (ESRA3) results, PTW riders declare to drink and drive more often (20%) compared to cyclists (17%) and car drivers (12%). The highest self-declared drinking and driving rates for PTW riders were observed in Ireland (36%), while the highest respective rates for car drivers were recorded in Luxembourg (24%).