Estonia records more road deaths despite fewer injuries

Estonia has recorded 30 road deaths this year, four more than during the same period last year, ERR reports. The increase comes despite a decline in the total number of serious traffic crashes and injuries.

Transport Administration traffic expert Villu Vane said police operational data showed that 55 fewer people had been injured in traffic accidents than at the same point last year, while the number of fatalities had risen by four.

Estonia’s road death rate also remains high compared with Nordic and other European countries. In a Europe-wide study covering 2024, Estonia recorded 50 traffic deaths per million inhabitants, compared with the European average of 44. Countries including Norway, Denmark and Germany had lower rates. Estonia’s improvement in road safety over the past decade was also relatively modest, at 12 percent.

Vane said the high number of deaths was rooted in road users’ habits and attitudes, including failure to follow speed limits.

He said road safety had improved compared with 10 or 20 years ago, with seat belt use becoming the norm. Around 98 to 99 percent of drivers and passengers in front seats use seat belts. However, several people still die in crashes each year because they were not wearing one.

Vane said there had been long-term improvement in speed behaviour, but progress had stalled in recent years. “One year we take half a step forward and the next year a step back,” he said.

It is still too early to assess the impact of recent legislative changes, including warning signs installed ahead of mobile speed cameras and a reduction in the speed threshold for fines. The signs were introduced only recently, Vane said, so their effect is currently likely to be limited.

He attributed poor road behaviour partly to the legacy of earlier times and said that young people’s attitudes were shaped by their surroundings and the example set at home.

Older road users among the highest risk groups

Vane identified older road users and young men as two key risk groups among those killed in traffic accidents. He said the profile of people responsible for crashes had not been specifically studied and varied widely.