Sharp increase of fatal accidents – authorities join forces

In 2018, died in 324 people in road traffic accidents in Sweden. This is an increase of 29 per cent from 2017. In particular, there was a strong increase of the number of dead in head-on collisions, where heavy traffic was involved.

The heavy traffic is rarely at fault for the accident, but the consequences are devastating, " says Maria Krafft, trafiksäkerhetsdirektör at the Dmv.

the heavy traffic on Swedish roads has increased by around 40 per cent. The increased deaths may be a beginning of the consequences of it. Extremåret 2018 can also be an exception, it is still too early to say, according to Maria Krafft.

in Addition to the heavy traffic, older cars are involved in a large proportion of the fatal accidents. Of all the people who died in cars in 2018 was 30 per cent of those in a car that had been manufactured before the year 2000.

– And the cars are only about one percent of the trafikarbetet. Clearly, it may be worthwhile to look at the opportunity to scrap older cars, from a socio-economic perspective. They have not at all the same safety equipment as the newer cars, " says Maria Krafft.

It significantly increased the deaths are a major setback for the target of maximum 220 fatalities persons in traffic to the year 2020. The assessment now is that the target with the largest probability will not be reached.

to counter the trend is made for the first time a joint plan where the 14 agencies to collaborate in order to achieve increased road safety. The plan will focus on three areas: speed, sobriety and safe cycling. It is the actions that are estimated to save an additional 40 to 50 lives.

in traffic, Katarina Bokström looked at. On behalf of the police and the Swedish transport administration, she and a colleague at the NTF, an organization that works for safe traffic, examined the problem.

– There are two ways to work against it. One is to stop the driver on the road. The second is to prevent the drunk journey from the beginning, and it is, of course, the smartest way, " says Bokström.

they have Mainly looked at the measures used in the vehicles in the transport sector. The most common is to install ignition interlock devices in the vehicles. In this respect, in particular light vehicles renting and become better, " says Bokström.

We also see the potential for improvement among the customer requirements to the contracted transport have the ignition interlock device or the at least one policy that is being followed up.

with onykterhet in traffic plays the police a crucial role, as well as control of speed and seat belt use. There has been criticism that the police did not have prioritised work with the road safety enough.

Maria Lönegård, head of the development centre at police national operations department (Noa) which has the national responsibility for road safety, says that the criticism is justified.

" We have had too low activity within road safety. It has not been prioritized and highlighted, and it has disappeared a bit in the reorganization. There is a large consensus within the police that we need to increase activity, " says Lönegård.

– We have received money from the government for us to become more west, and then there will be automatically more working with road safety. We need to fill-in with police officers at the out in the local community, it is the most important.